Another chance
by Lach Feragh
Summary: Obito has successfully become the Ten-Tails Jinchuuriki! As all hopes lay lost, a man appears to give Naruto another chance. Can he and this man save the world that was destroyed once, or will history repeat itself? NaruHina, perhaps some other pairings as the story progresses. Time-travel/alternate plot. A number of OC.
1. Prologue

******A/N: Hei guys, I hope you will enjoy this story. I will still continue my other stories but I'd like to begin a new one. Please any feedback/criticism is welcome. While I admit the OC is powerful here in this prologue, he will be reduced slightly from reasons I will explain in the next chapter.  
Other than that, please enjoy and review to drop me your thoughts**

**********Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Only ones are my OC.**

**PROLOGUE: **

The battlefield between the Shinobi Alliance against Obito, Madara and the Jyuubi was catastrophic, with dead bodies of the Shinobi Alliance scattered across the area. Although the Jyuubi was currently sealed in a barrier constructed by the four previous Hokages, the Jyuubi had created small versions of himself to battle against the Shinobi Alliance.

As the battle progressed, Uchiha Madara noticed his 'partner' returning from the other dimension, bleeding profusely and a large hole on his body. Considering the situation, Madara realized that Obito had served him enough and in his current condition, Madara felt that Obito was only useful for one purpose.

'Looks like I won't be able to use him anymore.' Madara thought. 'I wanted to butt heads with Hashirama before I become the ten-tails Jinchuuriki... But now I have no choice in the matter.'

Madara formed a seal and immediately Obito screamed in agony, the right side of his body engulfed by a dark, black color. Obito immediately recognized it as Madara's will and he could no longer control his body. Despite resisting the commands, Obito slowly formed a seal and the right side of his body now completely engulfed by the will of Madara.

"ARGHHHHHHHH!"

The screams of Obito immediately caught the attention of everyone, including Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. The four reincarnated Hokages also noticed the scream and the 1st Hokage, Hashirama Senji immediately knew what was happening.

'He is being controlled by Madara?' Hashirama thought, analyzing the situation. 'This is bad...'

"Naruto, Sasuke! The two of you are closest to that man! Stop him before he completes the Jutsu!" Hashirama barked.

Naruto and Sasuke immediately obeyed, both of them commanding their respective summons to stop Obito from completing whatever technique he was attempting. Madara merely grinned at their futile attempt and awaited for Obito to commence the Rinne'Tensei Jutsu to finally revive him. Once he was alive, he could finally become the Jinchuuriki of the ten-tails.

"Sasuke, stop him!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke grunted and activated the Mangekyou Sharingan, immediately calling forth Susano'o. Sasuke's Susano'o then immediately fired a large arrow towards Obito however before the arrow even connected with Obito, the Jyuubi suddenly retracted itself, decreasing in size and then being absorbed into Obito's body.

This act immediately caught Madara's attention and he watched what was happening. Once he realized what Obito had done, he merely smiled and sighed when he saw the Jyuubi being absorbed by Obito.

"Heh... I failed, huh?"

As the Jyuubi was being absorbed into Obito, Naruto and Sasuke had no where to land. Minato Namikaze reacted quickly, throwing one of his famous unique kunais and once the kunai was close to the two young ninjas, he released the seal and appeared next to them. He then grabbed the two and teleported back to his original position, continuing with the barrier technique.

Minato was confused and asked his son. "What is going on?"

"This was his plan all along!" Naruto declared in frustration. "He... He always wanted to be the Jinchuuriki of the ten-tails and now... we were too late!"

Sasuke said nothing but even he could tell that Naruto was right. Obito was absorbing the Jyuubi into him and becoming the Jinchuuriki of the Jyuubi. Everyone among the Shinobi Alliance watched in horror as Uchiha Obito slowly completed his transformation and no one knew what was going to happen. The dark skies above them illuminated the hope that the Alliance had; nothing.

Madara smirked once Obito was close to finishing the transformation. "Well at least the plan can still continue."

**"This is not good..."** Kurama, the nine-tails pointed out.

"What do we do...?" Naruto asked.

**"The ten-tails is powerful enough as it is. If that brat becomes the Jinchuuriki along with an undead Madara... I don't think even the previous Hokages have much of a chance."**

"There has to be a way, right?!"

Kurama made no reply and Naruto knew that they were in a grave situation. Finally after a couple of seconds, Obito had finally completed his transformation and had fully absorbed the ten-tails within his body. He had changed drastically since he absorbed the monster.

Obito had healed all his wounds, including the large hole had in his body earlier. Also his Rin'negan and his Sharingan were now white in color, his hair also white. On the right side of his body, it followed some of the Jyuubi characteristics and was also bright white in color.

None of the Shinobi Alliance dared to attack Obito, not knowing the capabilities of his power. Even Madara himself was curious with how much power the young Uchiha had gained from becoming the Jinchuuriki.

Obito raised his right arm and then waved in front of him. Instantly, the land was destroyed and shook wildly as if it was an earthquake. The destruction and power was so great that it threw a large number of the Shinobi Alliance off their feet, landing a couple of hundred feet away despite their distance between Obito and them.

"This power..." Obito murmured. "Heheheheh... I feel... refreshed!"

Naruto had to acknowledge that the power Obito revealed was far too powerful for anyone to confront them currently. Despite all of his power-ups, the young blonde Jinchuuriki felt that he would not be able to stop Obito, not when Obito was the ten-tails Jinchuuriki.

Obito raised his left arm this time to deliver another wave of destruction and the Shinobi Alliance immediately prepared for it. Sasuke activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and was going to throw an Amaterasu towards Obito when Obito waved his arm, sending shock waves towards the Alliance. This time the attack was far more powerful, the shock wave pushing the entire Alliance off their feet, including Naruto, Sasuke and even the previous Hokages.

Naruto and Sasuke crashed on the ground as if they were rag dolls, bruises appearing on their body from landing so roughly on the ground. Obito laughed at the sight, enjoying the sight of Naruto struggling to actually get back on his feet. However Obito still laughed and then pointed at something behind Naruto. The young blonde ninja turned back to discover a horrifying sight.

Behind him were the dead bodies that received the second shock wave, the attack so powerful that it damaged the internal organs. Many were incapacitated and coughing blood from the attack. Naruto clenched his fists in anger and glared at Obito with a high amount of killing intent radiating from Naruto.

Obito merely grinned at the sight. "Come, Naruto... Show me what you got!"

Obito this time raised his arm to try another attack and Naruto dashed towards Obito to stop him. However Obito never got the chance discover what sort of attack it would result in.

Lightning suddenly struck from the dark skies, obliterating the ground followed by several more lightning strikes. The sound caused by the lightnings were deafening, echoing throughout the battlefield. Obito himself found this odd, watching the lightning strike several more times before it stopped. Then from the dark skies, a small gateway appeared and from the gateway, a man with dark, spiky blue hair appeared from the gateway.

The man with blue hair stepped out of the gateway, surveying the battlefield. Obito, Madara and the Alliance all stared at the man, confused at the sudden appearance. The man had a large sword strapped onto his back about five feet long and three feet wide and had a large, strange symbol placed on the blade. The man shook his head in disappointment when he checked his surroundings and his sight landed on Uchiha Madara.

'Those eyes...' the man thought. 'No doubt about it. He must be a descendant of what he came to be known as 'Rikoudo Sanin. The situation is much worse than I thought.'

It was then that his spotted Obito and realized what had happened. 'Not good. He absorbed the ten-tailed beast...? If he did then even I... Damn it, did the Child of Prophecy fail in his mission?'

The blue haired man continued looking around until he found what he was looking for, his eyes sighting Uzumaki Naruto. Without further thought he sprinted towards Naruto and the Alliance wondered if they should attack the man for they did not know whether he was ally or foe.

Obito scoffed at the man and raised his arm. 'Foe or not, I will kill you!'

Obito's then threw down his arm while aimed at the new arrival. From above the dark skies, a large bolt of lightning, three meters wide at least, blasted from the skies. The blue haired man looked up at the sky and cursed at the power.

"You can already use such power...?!" He cursed, grabbing his blade and activating the weapon.

Immediately his large sword was surrounded by lightning green in color and defended himself from the lightning blast. The large lightning smashed into the stranger's blade but it could not break the sword nor could it even hurt the man. The man struggled against the attack before he screamed in agony and deflected the attack, the lightning from Obito sent back to the skies and disappearing from sight.

"What... Who is he...?" Obito muttered to himself.

When the man reached Naruto, Naruto was already in a defensive stance as he was not sure whether he was friend or foe. Sasuke himself watched the blue haired man suspiciously, prepared to attack should he become hostile.

"You are Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" The man asked.

"Who are you...?"

"Answer my question! Time is of the essence!"

Naruto was silent for a second before he gave a nod. The man then quickly continued. "I am Ryo Azuma and I cannot explain everything right now. However I can tell you this. This world is going to be destroyed... Alright perhaps not destroyed, but you are not going to win this battle."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Sasuke demanded.

"That man has the ten-tailed beast within him. Not to mention that even without it, he was powerful enough as it is. Also they have the Rin'negan, a power from that 'Rikoudo Sanin.' If we do not act now, it will be too late!"

"So what do you want me to do?!" Naruto asked.

The man created a seal and then opened another gateway next to him. "If you come with me, you can maybe have another chance to save this world. But I cannot explain now, you will just have to trust me. You can either die today and lose all hope or come with me and perhaps have a chance to save this world!"

"You are obviously not from around here, so why do you concern yourself so much over this?" Minato asked with a suspicious tone.

"Like I said, I cannot explain right now!" Ryo answered and then looked at Naruto in the eye. "IF you wish to have another chance, then I can tell you who I am and why saving this world is also my business even If this is not my home world! Now tell me Naruto!"

Naruto was still confused and all he had heard was that he had two choices; to die in this world or perhaps have another shot at saving the world. In the current situation, Obito was already too powerful and Naruto had no doubts that Obito would easily defeat them.

**"Go for it kid... That might be our only hope..."** Kurama suggested.

Obito decided that whoever the man was, he was someone he had to kill before he becomes an enemy. The simple fact that despite his new powers, the stranger could actually deflect his attack and he wanted to commence the Eye of the Moon Plan without failing. Obito then began forming seals in preparation to destroy Naruto, the stranger and the entire Shinobi force.

When Ryo realized what Obito was doing, Ryo almost screamed. "Naruto, I need an answer now!"

"...Fine! I want another chance!"

Upon receiving the answers, Ryo quickly grabbed Naruto and ran for the gateway. Obito by then completed the seals and released the biggest Bijuu Bomb ever seen. Because the entire Shinobi Alliance was busy listening to the conversation between Ryo and Naruto, none had prepared themselves and were easily wiped out. Sasuke, the previous Hokages and the Konoha 9 quickly prepared a quick defense. Sasuke activated his Susano'o, the previous Hokages a barrier and that was the last Naruto saw of his friends and family before he entered the gateway.

Ryo immediately shut the gateway and Naruto saw no more of his comrades. He knew not whether his friends even survived the encounter and the thought of them dying frightened him.

"Pull yourself together Naruto..." Ryo stated as he strapped his large sword back to his back.

Naruto then realized he was in a pitch, black area with several more gateways surrounding them. Whoever Ryo was, Naruto realized that the man was definitely not from his world.

"Alright then Naruto, as you should have guessed I'm not from your world. However there is no doubt that your world cannot be saved and the destruction of your world is something I cannot allow to happen." Ryo explained.

"Who are you anyway...? Why is the destruction of my world of such concern to you?!"

Ryo said nothing for a few seconds before he answered. "I guess to put it simply, I am a Guardian of World of sorts... I have been given the charge to protect your world and I came too late... I never expected the descendant of the Rikoudo Sanin to be of such a threat but... Anyway, we still have a shot of saving it again though."

Naruto stared into Ryo's eyes, curious for the answer. "And how do we do that...?"

"...By entering an alternate World of yours..."


	2. Explanation

**Hei guys, here is the new chapter. I know this is a quick update but I wanted to write it all down before I forget all of them. I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter and I apologize for maybe some lengthy explanations.**

**Do let me know how I did by dropping a review, I appreciate constructive criticisms or just to let me know what you liked about the chapter. Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 2: EXPLANATION**

In a dark room, Uzumaki Naruto was flabbergasted upon hearing the suggestion of this… this stranger. However the powers Ryo Azuma had revealed earlier in the battlefield allowed Naruto to give Ryo the benefit of the doubt.

"An… alternate world?" Naruto asked with a confused tone.

"Well that's one way to put it. Since you are the child of prophecy, I will be rewinding time back to the day you were born and there will definitely be some difference to the world you knew."

"Like what…?"

Ryo shrugged. "I honestly cannot tell… This is the first time in my duty of protecting your world to actually reverse time. I'm sure that there might be some changes once we reverse time so it will, in a way, be an alternate world to the one you are used to."

Naruto nodded in understanding and then asked another question. "Wait, you said you're a Guardian of watching over our world. If that's true, why didn't you help us earlier?"

"I cannot interfere in every little affair. You all have made it without me for the past four hundred years so I thought you all would do fine in this. Furthermore as the 'child of prophecy' I thought that would seal the deal. However, I guess nothing is certain; especially ever since the Rikoudo Sanin entered your world."

Naruto cocked his head to the left in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"First let me explain first why we Guardians are assigned to protect worlds. We serve a much higher power and all these worlds are created by our masters. Thus we have been given the responsibility to protect the worlds assigned to us by our masters to make sure nothing happens or it would result in an unbalanced system."

Naruto nodded and Ryo continued his explanation. "Of course our masters have enemies but they cannot involve themselves directly in destroying the world so normally they would send their minions to do their bidding. Of course their minions are far weaker than us Guardians so we normally have no problem cleansing these monsters from the world they infected."

Ryo took a deep breath and resumed. "The Rikoudo Sanin… formerly known as Itazaki Hiro, was a Guardian of your world before I took over. His duty was to protect your world from destruction and the ten-tails appeared in your world. Hiro waited for some time, watching the ten-tails wreaking havoc in your world. After a period of time, Hiro realized the ten-tails would destroy your world if nothing stopped him so he entered your world to defeat it."

Ryo paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "As you should know, he defeated the beast but even despite being a Guardian, it took Hiro some time to actually defeat it. Because the ten-tails was so strong he actually had to seal it within himself to protect your world. By doing this, he could no longer resume his duties as a Guardian since he had the ten-tailed beast within him. Thus I was appointed to continue his work while Hiro stayed in your world, where he would later become known as the 'Rikoudo Sanin.'"

"So… The Ninjutsu and everything we've learned…" Naruto said slowly.

"Yes, they are all the techniques of the Guardian Itazaki Hiro or the 'Rikoudo Sanin'. Ever since he passed on his teachings to his descendants, it is almost impossible to predict how well your world would continue since you all possess the abilities of one of our Guardians… Not to mention that your world now contains miniature versions of that ten-tailed beast."

"So the other world does not have a Guardian passing on his descendants?" Naruto asked.

Ryo shook his head, laughing at the question. "Of course not, your world was a special case because of the power of the ten-tails. Other worlds have their own problems respectively and some situations calls for the need of Guardians to intervene on such matter. However even today, I do not know how such a powerful monster like the ten-tails managed to enter your world. It is a disturbing fact to me that such a powerful creature actually managed to enter a world such as yours."

Naruto felt insulted by the remark, popping a vein on his head. "What do you mean by that?!"

Ryo raised his arms, trying to calm the young blonde. "I didn't mean it that way. I just feel it odd that such a powerful creature; a monster so powerful that would actually force a Guardian to abandon his duty because of the sheer power of the creature. In the past, the minions infecting the world would not be so powerful compared to the ten-tails…"

"So what are you trying to say…?"

Ryo shrugged. "I'm just worried… that perhaps… No, never mind. Maybe I'm just overthinking things…"

A moment of silence passed between the two. Ryo for one wondered if perhaps there were darker powers at work even in this dark, world of Guardians. Ryo wondered if the enemies of his master had somehow managed to discover a method to create such a powerful monster and implant them into a world. However Ryo doubted that since if that was the case, other Guardians would have reported similar cases. So far only the world of Itazaki Hiro had a powerful monster that infected the world.

"So are you… stronger than the Rikoudo Sanin?" Naruto asked while scratching the back of his head.

Ryo raised an eyebrow at the question, contemplating the answer. "Well, every Guardian is different from another. We do not have the same abilities so we cannot tell who is stronger from the other. Although I have to admit that the Rikoudo Sanin does possess one of the most powerful techniques among us Guardians."

"So what's your skill…?"

Ryo smirked and then opened the palm of his hand. "I master the control of Lightning." So as to prove his point, Ryo then created a ball of lightning in the palm of his hand. Then he commanded the lightning to spin around him and after that Ryo shaped the lightning into the shape of a large dragon, roaring at Naruto.

"It may not seem like much but the power of lightning, I can do a lot and added with my skills with my sword…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Alright fine, I get it. So how do we set things right? How do I get to save my world from destruction?"

Ryo dispelled the lightning dragon and returned to the issue at hand. "Like I said, since you are the child of prophecy, I can bring back time from anywhere until to the day you were born. Any further would be impossible unless I brought someone else that had lived before you."

"Then why didn't you bring Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto demanded. "His team mate was Obito! If you brought him, you could go to his timeline and… stop Obito from becoming evil!"

"Cut me some slack Naruto…" Ryo replied. "Firstly Kakashi was in another dimension when I dragged you into this dimension. Also I have no time to actually watch your world all the time, so I do not know everyone's names. Besides it's too late now and I only got you, so we will have to make do with that. Besides you have a part of the ten-tails within you, isn't that right?"

"**Watch how you refer to me, human!" **Kurama hissed in anger.

However Ryo showed no fear, smirking at the threat. "That kind of saying may have worked on the lower ones but I'm a Guardian, eight-tails…"

"**I'm the nine-tails you idiot!"**

Ryo blinked a few times, feeling like an idiot. Even Naruto sweat dropped from the idiocy of this so-called Guardian.

"Sh-shut up! It's just a one-time mistake!" Ryo retorted although it was clear to Kurama and Naruto that Ryo knew nothing of the beasts.

"**Forget it… Anyway 'Guardian' what's the plan…? How do we stop from letting the bastard ten-tails from destroying the world?"**

Naruto then had a thought pop into his mind. "Hei and will Kurama be fine? I mean… he is part of the ten-tails so if we go back into an alternate world… Will…"

"Don't worry, Kurama will still be Kurama. While it is true he is a part of the ten-tails of your current world, Kurama is still a being by itself. Therefore even if we reverse time and move into an alternate world, Kurama will still hold some memories of this previous world… although it might take some time for the two of you to remember.""

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well reversing time is not something us Guardians do, it is still an experimental-sort of technique. There may be some 'bugs' such as taking some time to recover your memories…" Ryo clarified.

Naruto and Kurama were silent for a moment before both burst out in anger.

"**What's the point in turning back time if we might get back our memories too late!" **Kurama roared.

"Yeah, then we won't be able to prepare ourselves for the upcoming events!" Naruto added in.

"Both of you, calm down…" Ryo said slowly although Kurama and Naruto ceased to listen. It took another two minutes before the two finally calmed down. "While it is true that it might take months, perhaps even years before the two of you regain your memories, I will be there watching over. Worst comes to the worst, I will train Naruto personally until he regains his memories so that he will still be strong by the time he becomes a… Genin is it?"

Naruto sweat dropped at Ryo's lack of knowledge of the ninja system. "You… you really don't watch over our world much, do you?"

"Can we drop that, please? Look this time I will be living in your world to make sure your world will be safe, so don't worry!" Ryo stated. After a moment, he took his sword from his back and touched the strange seal he had on the blade. "Alright, I'm going to reverse time now. Give me a minute."

Naruto and Kurama sighed but decided to trust Ryo. After all, their old world was probably now under the Eye of the Moons Plan by now and the only one they could trust right now was Ryo. However Naruto had to admit that with such a powerful ally by his side this time, he had no doubt they would succeed this time.

As for Kurama, he thought of how small he and Naruto actually were. He could not believe that they were part of just one world over probably thousands of other planets and how hundreds of Guardians were watching them.

Suddenly from the seal of Ryo's blade, a beam blue in color burst out of the seal and shot towards the gateway from where Ryo had dragged Naruto from. The beam penetrated through the door, leaving a trail of burnt marks and light. After a couple of seconds, the beam slowly faded away and once again, the strange black room was once again greeted with darkness.

"Alright it is done…" Ryo said softly and then looked at Naruto. "Are you ready for this?"

Naruto took a deep breath, recalling all of the good and bad memories he had in his life. He recalled all of the major events, his graduation from the academy, the death of the 3rd Hokage, meeting his father, mother and then the 4th ninja war. His latest sweet memory was when he finally accepted Hinata's support she carried for him all these years and he regretted he could not share an intimate moment in the previous world. Now he hoped to change that with his second chance.

"I'm ready…" Naruto said with a look of determination in his face.

Ryo Azuma stared at Naruto for a moment and the look of determination that Naruto carried was something that Ryo liked. It was almost the same look that the Hiro had when he accepted his fate to stay in the world as the Rikoudo Sanin and passing on his role as a Guardian to Ryo Azuma. Ryo had to admit that Naruto was indeed a descendant of that Guardian.

"One last thing before we go Naruto…"

"What is it?"

"We only have one shot at this." Ryo stated plainly. "I can only reverse time this one time. If we fail, the world will be doomed. Each world can only be assigned a new Guardian every 700 years so there won't be another Guardian to take over this world for a very long time. We cannot fail, do you understand?"

Naruto merely gave a confident grin and raised a fist. "One chance is all I need to set things right!"

Ryo merely grinned before he nodded, urging for the two of them to enter the gateway. Ryo led the way, running towards the gateway while Naruto followed closely behind. Unlike the time when they entered the black room, this time when Naruto entered through the door, he was greeted by a bright light that blinded his vision. He could not see anything and he could not sense anything. As the seconds passed, he slowly lost control of his body and after that, he slowly lost his memories, not recalling everything that had transpired…

***Grassland***

Not far from Konoha, a couple of ninjas patrolling the area on an ordinary day. The sun was already close to setting and the ninjas were looking forward to a change in their shift. Two Konoha Jounins were chatting with one another to pass up the time, talking about their family lives when out of nowhere, a lightning suddenly blasted nearby, shocking the two Jounins despite their ninja reflexes.

"What the hell was that?!" One of them said in shock.

Before his friend could reply, another struck the land once more forcing the two Jounins to hop behind and even drawing their kunais. They knew this was not normal and prepared for something to occur. Then suddenly, a gateway appeared before them and a few seconds later, Ryo Azuma appeared through the gateway.

"Alright… Now where the hell am I…?" Ryo asked himself, surveying his surroundings when he noticed the two Jounins eyeing him suspiciously.

"Hei, can you tell me where I am?"

"Who are you?!" The Jounins asked, never lowering the kunai. "If you're hostile, we'll kill you before you can do anything!"

Ryo rolled his eyes and knew he had no time to waste. He was about to just walk away when he noticed the headband that the two Jounins were wearing and knew they were Konoha ninjas, the same headband that Naruto was wearing. He now knew he was at least close but now he needed to know where Naruto was.

"Hei, any of you know Naruto?" Ryo questioned.

"We have no obligation to answer that!" One of the Jounin replied. "Until you tell us what you're doing here, we won't let you go!"

Ryo realized this was not going to progress any further. "Listen, just take me to your leader… What's it called… Err… Hokage was it?"

"Like I said, we are not going anywhere until you tell us who you are and what you're doing here!" The Jounin on the right cried.

The other Jounin then added in, "Besides the Hokage is busy right now! His wife is going to go into labor so…"

"Shut up you idiot!" The Jounin hissed.

Ryo's eyes widened when he realized now where Naruto was. He had reversed time to when Naruto was going to be born so no doubt that Naruto was the Hokage's son. However he had no idea where the Hokage was and nor did he even know how he was going to find him. Still he at least had a clue so he needed to act now.

"Alright, thanks for the info. I'll just get to Konoha then…"

Ryo sprinted to his right, guessing that was where Konoha was since he could see a very large wall in the distance. However the moment Ryo ran away, the two Konoha Jounins quickly took action, not wanting to risk the safety of the village from being attacked by a stranger. Both Jounins tossed several shurikens and kunais towards Ryo.

Upon hearing the whistle of the ninja tools being thrown at him, Ryo sighed and stopped dead in his tracks. The Guardian quickly drew out his blade and blocked them all flawlessly with the large blade. One of the Konoha Jounins arrived first, leaping into the air with a new kunai drawn to attack Ryo.

Ryo quickly counter-attacked, spinning around with his blade drawn and fused his large sword with lightning. Ryo easily avoided the kunai swung at him and Ryo attacked, touching the blade of his sword gently on the Konoha ninja. The electricity on Ryo's blade moved towards the Konoha ninja and began electrocuting the man. It lasted two seconds but it was powerful enough to knock the man out, the Konoha Jounin's hair spiky and black from the burns.

"DIE!"

The other Konoha Jounin screamed, sprinting towards Ryo. The Guardian then raised his left arm and opened the palm of his hand. From his palm, he shot a lightning bolt towards the remaining Jounin. The bolt was so quick that the Jounin could not even avoid it, the bolt of lightning zapping the Jounin square in the chest and throwing him three meters backwards and immediately knocking the Jounin unconscious.

"Geez they were persistent." Ryo remarked but then turned serious once more. "Now I need to find Naruto before anything might happen."

***In a secret location***

The chamber echoed with the screams of Kushina Uzumaki in pain as she pushed for Naruto. The attendants continued to encourage her while Minato had a worried expression but he too encouraged her with whatever words came to mind. After a couple grueling minutes, Naruto was finally delivered and the attendant wrapped Naruto in a blanket.

"It's a healthy boy!" The attendant announced along with the cries of Naruto.

Minato wiped tears of joy upon the safe delivery of his son. "I… I'm a father…!"

Kushina was still exhausted but she could finally see her son that she had carried for nine months. Naruto was still bawling his eyes out but to her, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. As the attendant carried Naruto next to her, Kushina looked at Naruto with loving eyes.

"Naruto…" Kushina said while panting heavily. "I… finally get to see you…"

However Minato knew that he could not enjoy the moment right now. He had another important task that he had to do and Kushina knew what it was. The two immediately began preparations to strengthened the seal once more. However they never got far when two screams echoed the chamber and a second later, two dead bodies lay on the floor.

"Biwako! Taji!" Minato exclaimed in shock.

Before Minato and Kushina was a stranger with a mask with one-hole for his right eye. The stranger doned a black cloak which covered all of his body and in his hands was Naruto.

The stranger then said with a threatening voice. "Yondaime Hokage Minato… Step away from the host… If you don't this child won't live a minute longer…!"

Minato and Kushina could barely register what was going on as the stranger threatened the life of their precious baby.


	3. Attack on Konoha

**Disclaimer: All character in the Naruto universe is owned by Kishimoto. I own nothing here except my OC.**

**A/N: Hei guys, this is a pretty lengthy chapter (for me, at least) so I hope you guys don't mind. Do drop a review regarding what you think of the chapter or to give me any constructive criticism. It will really help me out. Thanks ^_^**

**CHAPTER 3: ATTACK ON KONOHA**

Namikaze Minato stared in horror as the stranger was now threatening the very life of his son. The happiest moment of his and Kushina's life were now about to be crushed by this unknown assailant. The chamber was now silent with only the sound of the flickering of the flames burning on the candles.

The cries of Naruto resonated throughout the small chamber, ignored by his parents as they could not do anything to help their newborn son. As for the stranger he was patiently testing Minato, wondering what the Yellow Flash of Konoha's next course of action would be. The chamber was silent with only the sounds of their breathing heard.

'How did he slip through the barrier…? Who is he?' Minato thought when suddenly the screams of agony from his wife caught his attention.

"Kushina!" Minato called out followed by more screams from the red haired woman.

'Damn it the seal is weakening…!' Minato added which merely added more pressure in the situation.

The mysterious man sensing Minato's breaking composure merely added his panic. "Step away from the host, Yondaime Hokage… Or do you wish for your son to die…?"

At this point the stranger drew the dagger closer to Naruto's neck, the cold metal touches the delicate skin of the young Naruto. Upon watching such a scene, the Yondaime Hokage began sweating frantically.

"C-calm down…!" Minato suggested in hopes trying to buy time.

"Calm…? You are the one that needs to calm down, Minato." The masked man by then threw Naruto into the air with the kunai in the other, about to stab Naruto once the boy falls back down.

"NARUTO!" Kushina screamed in horror.

The Yellow Flash finally made his move, his main priority to save his son from certain death. With speed unmatchable by the eyes, the fourth Hokage instantly had grabbed Naruto in his arms before the stranger could end Naruto's life. Minato landed on the wall of the chamber, applying chakra to his feet to stay on the walls.

"I have expected nothing less from the Yellow Flash…" The stranger commended. "but how about the next one?"

To Minato's horror, on Naruto's towel there were several exploding tags strapped onto it. Thinking quickly, the Yondaime Hokage pulled the towel off of his son and quickly activated the 'Flying Thunder God' technique to escape from the explosions. In just the link of a second, Minato and Naruto had disappeared from the secret chamber and appeared in a shed.

Minato released a sigh of relief. "At least Naruto's still safe… But the price is paid by abandoning Kushina. I've got to hurry!"

Once more Minato activated the 'Flying Thunder God' technique and this time appeared back at his home. For now he placed Naruto in a small cradle and prepared to rescue his wife before the stranger released the Nine-tailed demon from her. He prayed that he was not too late.

***Konoha***

By now the moon had replaced the sun in the sky and darkness was laid across the land. The villagers suspected nothing and resumed their activities. There were still merchants selling their goods, waiters or waitresses trying to convince passer-by to dine in their restaurants and other civilians simply enjoying the night breeze.

Ninjas still patrolled the streets but they were much more relaxed, chatting up with other civilians or with their respective partners in their patrols. Even the ANBU, whom were the elite Ninjas that answered directly to the Hokage were relaxed in their duties. At most of the ANBU at least were relaxed.

The other ANBUs were tailing a very suspicious man and the man had not only attracted their attention but also the attention of the villagers and some of the regular ninjas as well. Some of the villagers whispered with one another, wondering why the man carried such a large weapon and worse, the blade was not even sheathed.

"Man… where can I find the Hokage tower?" Ryo muttered, looking left and right for any signboards. "Seriously for such an established village, can't they at least put up signs…? Geez…"

Ryo hurried around Konoha aimlessly and was obviously lost. The ANBU contemplated whether if Ryo was a threat they needed to be worried or not. It was obvious that Ryo was lost but his large weapon and not to mention that some of the sensor ninjas that sensed powerful chakra reserves from him forced the ANBU to not leave their sights.

Ryo approached a man nearby, catching his attention. "Hei mister, do you know where I can find the Hokage?"

"Erm… Well… You see that red, big building over there?" The man pointed out. "He should be there although I doubt it at this hour. It's already past office hours so…"

"Thanks!" Ryo interrupted and headed for the Hokage tower.

As Ryo dashed for his destination, the three ANBU ninjas that were following Ryo immediately grew cautious. They had heard the conversation and now felt that Ryo may pose a danger to the Hokage.

"What do we do?" One of the ANBU asked, wearing a boar mask.

The ANBU captain nodded towards where Ryo was going. "We follow him and see if he is really headed towards the Hokage tower. If so, we will intercept him until we can determine whether or not he is a threat."

The third ANBU looked at his captain. "…A threat?"

"Yes, if he is an assassin we will have to kill him." The ANBU captain replied.

"An assassin…?" The ANBU with the boar mask said in disbelief. "But… Isn't it kind of foolish for an assassin to stroll in just like that?"

The ANBU captain chuckled as he and his subordinates trailed Ryo. "Assassins can work in a lot of ways to avoid the guards. We cannot allow him that opportunity."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" The third ANBU, wearing a hawk mask asked. "If he could be an assassin, shouldn't we take action now?"

"We do not know this man's motive and we will follow him until we must act. However if we still do not know what he plans to do by the time he reaches the Hokage tower, then we will act whether we know what he plans to do or not!"

With the plan laid out the three ANBU continued to follow Ryo silently like a cat on the rooftops, watching from the shadows and using the covers of the darkness. It took Ryo only a few more minutes before he finally arrived at the Hokage tower. However there were no lights within the building and Ryo doubted the Hokage was still present. Still he needed to check whatever leads he had regarding the location of the Yondaime Hokage.

Finally Ryo arrived at his destination, the large red Hokage tower before him. Above the Hokage towers Ryo could see the large statues depicting the past and current Hokages, all whom he recognized when he saw them briefly at the other world when he offered Naruto another chance. The statues definitely replicated their images and he all of them had died. Ryo found that fact saddening.

Once Ryo took a step forward towards the entrance of the Hokage tower, the three ANBUs jumped from their hiding place and landed right in front of Ryo, standing in his way.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you pass." The ANBU captain declared with his arms on his chest.

Ryo raised an eyebrow, eyeing the entrance behind the ANBU. "Err… I really need to meet with the Hokage."

"And what is the reason…?"

Ryo hesitated, not wanting to reveal that he had come from a different timeline. Hell Ryo reasoned that even if he told them the truth, he doubt they would believe him. He felt that only the Hokage would believe him once Naruto also sides with him, assuming the boy had his memories. At least then he could link Naruto's mind with his father and explain things from there. However the ANBU here…

"I'm sorry but it is classified information." Ryo answered. "Now if you can just step aside…"

The ANBU all stayed firm, two of the ANBU even drawing their katana out. "If you will not tell us why, we will assume you are hostile. We shall not let you pass." The ANBU captain warned and grabbed the handle of his katana.

Ryo considered what his next move was. It was obvious that the ANBU would not let him pass and if he forced his way through, it might attract too much attention. Then again he had no time to play negotiation and once he found Naruto, perhaps they could explain what was going on.

"Sorry guys but I need to see the Hokage." Ryo said once more, drawing his gigantic blade from his back. "I'm not here to hurt the Hokage so rest assured. So if…"

The ANBU all had enough and charged towards Ryo with their katana drawn. Ryo cursed and infused his sword with lightning, swinging his weapon wildly. The hawk mask ANBU tried to block the blade against Ryo but with lightning infused with the blade, Ryo easily broke the blade and slashed the ANBU's shoulder, wounding him.

"You'll pay for that!" The boar mask ANBU shouted.

Ryo lifted his blade and attacked as if he was swinging a club. With the large sword, the sight was frightening and the ANBU ninja could do nothing but block the attack. Ryo's weapon and the boar mask ANBU clashed against one another but this time Ryo could not break through the weapon.

"What the…?" Ryo sputtered in confusion.

It was then that Ryo noticed that the ANBU also had infused his blade with lightning, neutralizing Ryo's lightning. While still locked against Ryo, the ANBU threw a kick at the Guardian but Ryo avoided it and then opened the palm of his free hand, charging a lightning bolt. The ANBU ninja saw the danger he was in but it was too late, Ryo releasing a lightning bolt and blasting the ANBU away, knocking him out instantly.

"You're good, stranger…" The ANBU captain complimented as he drew his katana. "It is rare for someone to throw powerful Lightning type techniques without forming any seals."

"We can avoid this meaningless fight. Let me speak with the Hokage…" Ryo pleaded but the ANBU captain was firm in his duty.

"Until you tell me what it is for, I cannot allow that. It is my duty as the personal ninjas of the Hokage." The ANBU captain answered.

With that, the ANBU captain sprinted towards Ryo. The Guardian swung his blade vertically but the ANBU captain dodged it by jumping into the air and landing behind Ryo. However Ryo was quick, spinning around with his blade as if he was a hurricane. The ANBU captain was skilled however, hopping back quickly and forming seals at the same time.

"Fire release! Grand Fireball technique!"

The ANBU captain pushed aside his mask for a moment and released a giant fireball towards Ryo. The Guardian grunted and then threw a ball of lightning green in color at the large fireball. The ball of lightning then slowly but surely absorbed the fireball and floated still, not moving. Ryo ran towards the green ball of lightning and smashed it like a ball, sending the ball of lightning towards the ANBU captain.

The ANBU captain was surprised by the move and rolled to his right, the ball of lightning sailing past him and smashing on a nearby building. The moment the lightning ball crashed on the building, the impact also released flames from the ball of lightning and electricity. Then after two seconds, the flames and lightning dissipated and even the building showed no signs of any crash.

"That technique… it absorbed my flames and…?"

Ryo nodded with a grin. "Yes it can absorb techniques and then release them once it dispels."

The ANBU captain was impressed but it merely added fuel to how much of a threat Ryo was. The two engaged one another once more, Ryo swinging his blade while the ANBU captain avoided what he could and trying to find an opening. He knew with Ryo's blade infused with lightning, his katana would merely break so he was at a disadvantage.

Ryo smashed his blade into the ground, once more missing the ANBU captain. With Ryo frustrated, Ryo raised his left arm and pointed at the ANBU with his index finger. Then a thin, beam of lightning was thrown at the ANBU captain. Despite the incredible speed, the ANBU captain ducked on time, the beam of lightning passing by. However Ryo merely cocked his finger and the beam of lightning followed its movement, turning back and moving towards the ANBU captain. With no chance of avoiding it, the beam of lightning zapped the ANBU captain on his back. The ANBU captain shook violently as he was shocked but the beam of lightning Ryo used only targeted the nervous systems within the body and therefore temporarily paralyzing the ANBU captain. A second later the ANBU captain collapsed on his back; unable to move and still shaking uncontrollably.

"You fought well but you're no match for a Guardian…" Ryo said with respect and strapped his blade to his back once more. "Now I need to find the Hokage!"

Before Ryo could even turn to make his way towards the entrance, several more ANBU ninjas had arrived due to the ruckus caused by the fight.

"Stop where you are!" An ANBU ordered while drawing his katana.

Ryo narrowed his eyes in frustration. "Oh come on..!"

Ryo decided to ignore the men and dashed towards the entrance, ignoring the screams of the ANBU ninja and the shurikens being thrown at him.

***House of Minato***

Minato Namikaze opened his wardrobe and took out the Hokage robe, wearing it. Behind the robe was the proud display that says 'Yondaime Hokage.' After he was done with his outfit, Minato picked up a couple of his unique kunai that had the seals he could use for his 'Flying Thunder God technique.' Once he was sure he was ready, Minato visited his sleeping son once more.

Minato stared at his son, so fragile and so peaceful sleeping. It pained him to leave his side at such a precarious time but he had to now save his mother. Naruto shifted in his sleep but other than that, he remained sleeping peacefully. Minato pet his son's head softly and then got on one knee.

"I'll be back Naruto…" Minato whispered. "I need to help your mother now. Be a good boy alright and just wait until I return. I love you…"

Minato then gently kissed his son on the forehead and stood back up. With one last look of his son before he departed, Minato hoped he would make it. However, he did not know why but he had a bad feeling about the recent events. With his resolve made, Minato turned away and activated the 'Flying Thunder God technique' that he had on Kushina, teleporting to wherever she was being held at the moment.

***Hokage tower***

"What is going on here?" An old voice spoke out.

In the hallways of the Hokage tower of the top floor, Ryo had been on the run from the ANBU while at the same time dodging and blocking whatever attacks he had thrown at them. The huge commotion finally attracted the attention of a senior ninja. Ryo stopped dead in his tracks, looking at the old man while the other ANBU when they spotted the old man quickly got on their knees in respect.

"We apologize for the disturbance Hokage-sama but we were trying to stop this intruder!" An ANBU spoke out.

The old man was smoking through a pipe and released a puff of smoke from the corner of his lips. The old man was dressed a full-length kimono red in color tied with a sash with a small goatee and short spiked hair. The old man looked at Ryo with interest, taking another deep breath on his pipe.

"Eh…? You're the Hokage?" Ryo asked in confusion.

"Former Hokage actually…" Sarutobi corrected and then eyed Ryo. "For you to question a fact that is of common knowledge in Konoha and the other nations… Who are you?"

"I'm sorry… err… former Hokage but I need to speak with the current Hokage, the Yondaime! It is an urgent matter!" Ryo explained quickly.

"…What is it you need to speak to him about?"

"I… Well… I don't think you'll believe me but well… it concerns about Naruto and…"

"Hold it right there!" The old man interrupted, stopping Ryo from explaining anything further. The former Hokage stayed silent for a moment before he finally looked at the ANBU ninjas behind Ryo. "I will handle with this stranger. You are all excused."

Every one of the ANBU ninjas stayed for a second before they obeyed the command of their former master and departed the hallways and also the Hokage tower. Only Ryo and the Sandaime Hokage remained behind, none speaking another word. The Hokage removed his pipe from his lips and released another puff of smoke.

"Naruto… That is the name that Minato had given his son… Only certain few individuals are aware of that name since it is still classified mission." Sarutobi said. "So who are you? I can remember most of the ninjas in this village but you are definitely an unfamiliar one and yet you know of something that many is not supposed to know yet. Who are you and how do you know this?"

Ryo licked his dry lips before he began. "Well you see… Man, this is really hard… I… I'm from another… world… of sorts and well… Eh… Well I have seen the future of this world and it ended with a disaster that destroyed this world because of my… incompetence. Naruto was the key in saving the world but he needed help and I was too late. So…"

Unfortunately for Ryo before he could explain everything, a loud roar interrupted their conversation. The glass of the Hokage tower shattered, the items on tables dropping to the floor from the force of the scream. Sarutobi and Ryo looked out the window and in their horror spotted the Nine-tailed fox in the center of the village destroying the nearby village.

"The Kyuubi?!" Sarutobi said in shock. "How… Did the seal…?"

As for Ryo he was confused to see the Nine-tails in the open and not sealed within Naruto. 'Wait, what's going on…? Isn't the Kyuubi supposed to be sealed in Naruto…? Is this one of the changes in the alternate world? Damn it, to assign me to this world so late… I don't know what is right or wrong in this world anymore, I need Naruto to tell me what will happen or Kurama at least!'

"Listen, we can continue this later but now I need to help stop the Kyuubi from destroying Konoha!" Sarutobi shouted and then went away, probably to prepare himself for battle.

Ryo watched the old man disappear into a room, leaving the Guardian alone in the dark hallways. Outside in the center of Konoha, he could see the Nine-tails on a rampage, roaring at his surroundings and swiping its gigantic paws on the buildings and ninjas out of its way. Several ninjas tried to stop it but it was obvious that the beast was far too powerful for common ninjas.

Outside he could hear the screams of people crying in fear, calling for help while running for their lives. Some of the ANBU were protecting them, directing them where they could run for safety and others distracted the Kyuubi at the cost of their lives.

Ryo approached the broken windows and watched the Nine-tailed monster on its rampage. Ryo wondered if Kurama had not yet regained his memories and this was his original form; how Kurama acted before Naruto tamed the beast. Whatever the case Ryo needed to do what he could for now. Ryo grabbed his sword and then raised his right arm, calling forth the Lightning elements. Immediately a flash of lightning blasted through the skies and Ryo grabbed hold of the lightning. The beam of lightning then quickly pulled Ryo to his destination and once Ryo was close enough, Ryo released hold of it.

"Hei Kurama!" Ryo shouted at the top of his lungs. "Get back to your senses!"

The Nine-tails heard the loud voice but under the control of the Sharingan, the voice merely landed on deaf ears. The beast gave a deafening roar and used of its tails to slap Ryo away. Ryo charged his blade with blue lightning this time and swung his blade at the tail, smashing it away. The Nine-tails growled in anger, immediately recognizing Ryo as an immediate threat and focused its attention on the blue haired Guardian. Ryo landed on the ground and stared at the large demon.

"Damn it, don't you remember me?!" Ryo yelled only to be greeted with Kurama snarling its fangs.

'Well first thing's first, it's too dangerous to continue fighting here. There are many lives that will be harmed here.' Ryo thought.

The Nine-tails growled in anger and attacked with its paw but Ryo easily parried it with his blade. Ryo then began channeling his energy into his sword, the blade infused with so much blue lightning that there was no more trace of the sword and the blue lightning sparkled brightly.

Ryo then avoided another swipe of the paw and jumped into the air. Ryo charged for the attack and then swung his weapon as if it was a baseball bat, smashing the blade into the right muzzle of the Nine-tails. The force was so powerful that it threw the Nine-tails off its paws and hinds and sailed backwards. Ryo landed on his feet panting heavily and his blade had lost the blue Lightning it had earlier.

'That took up a lot more power than I thought.' Ryo thought in his mind. 'The blue Lightning really takes up too much but it was the only way to force the Kyuubi out of the walls of Konoha. Man, how the hell did that Rikoudo Sanin actually fight the Ten-tails…?'

The Nine-tails crashed outside the walls of Konoha, injured heavily from the attack but it quickly got up and delivered another roar of anger. It then began charging up a Bijuu bomb, a black sphere slowly appearing on the outside of its mouth. Every high-level ninja recognized the dangers of the Bijuu bomb and wondered what they were going to do. Ryo already had used up quite a bit and although he could if he had energy, Ryo needed more time than usual.

'Great… Now what do I do…?' Ryo thought helplessly.

***Statue of Hokages***

Unknown to everyone, Minato Namikaze had witnessed almost everything since the Kyuubi appeared. Earlier he had just rescued Kushina from being smashed into a pancake by the Kyuubi but he failed to stop the masked man from releasing the Kyuubi. Thankfully his wife was still alive thanks to the power of her bloodline as an Uzumaki.

After he rescued her, he then teleported back home with his wife and laid Kushina next to their son, Naruto, whom was still sleeping peacefully. Although it was a touching moment and Kushina thanked her husband for providing her some time to be with her son, Minato still had a job as the protector of the village of Konoha.

Minato was surprised however by the blue-haired man whom appeared out of nowhere and rode on a beam of lightning. To top it off, he actually challenged the Kyuubi and managed to whack the Kyuubi out of the walls of Konoha. Whoever the stranger was, Minato knew he had to meet with him if he survives the night.

From outside the walls, the Kyuubi fired a Bijuu bomb aimed towards the village.

"Not on my watch!" Minato said and began using his Space-Time technique.

As the Bijuu bomb travelled past above most of the buildings in the village, it was about to crash at the Hokage tower. Suddenly the Bijuu bomb entered a sort-of blackhole, being absorbed slowly and then completely disappears. Minato then aimed it at some mountains far away from Konoha and opened the black-hole once more. From there, the Bijuu bomb reappeared and exploded in the distance. Despite being so far away, Minato and everyone in Konoha could feel the shockwaves and power of the Bijuu bomb, the whole infrastructure of Konoha shaking.

'Alright now that that's dealt with, I need to find the Sandaime Hokage and let him know what is going on…' Minato thought.

Unknown to Minato, the masked man had silently appeared behind Minato by coming through from under the statue. The masked man could dematerialize and thus pass through solid ground. As sneakily as he could, the masked man reached out with an open arm to grab hold of Minato.

Nevertheless Minato was a highly skilled ninja and the current Hokage of Konoha so he immediately sensed the masked man appearing from behind. Minato grabbed his unique kunai and swung his kunai in an arc. Regrettably for Minato, the masked man once more dematerialized himself and Minato's kunai slipped through the man as if he was a ghost. Once Minato had slipped through, the masked man solidified himself and grabbed hold of Minato.

"It's over, Yondaime Hokage!"

Quickly the masked man began to absorb Minato into his eye. Minato recognizing the danger he was in quickly activated the 'Flying Thunder God technique' and disappeared into thin air.

"I need to warp him faster." The masked man remarked to himself, cursing his speed.

The masked man then looked in the distance at his mind-controlled Kyuubi rampaging against the other ninjas outside the walls of Konoha. He had hoped the beast would create more damage inside the city for a better distraction but the arrival of the blue-haired man pushing the Kyuubi away was not what he had expected. Even now he could see the blue-haired man joining the fight, causing trouble for the Kyuubi.

"He seems troublesome…"

***Outside of Konoha walls***

The ninjas of Konoha all did what they could to injure the monster but the regenerative factor of the Kyuubi was too strong. Ninja tools could barely hurt it and the Kyuubi merely healed up the injuries it sustained from other Ninjutsu.

Sarutobi was now dressed in his battlesuit, a black jumpsuit with an armor helmet with a chainmail beneath the jumpsuit. He instructed the ninjas what to do to defend Konoha. Several more ninjas were arriving at the scene, even some of the ANBU black opts, the elite of the ANBU forces, had arrived.

"What are your orders, Hokage-sama?" A nearby ANBU black opt asked.

"Do as much damage as you can against the Nine-tails until the Yondaime arrives! We need to buy him more time so until then, do what you can with your lives!" Sarutobi barked out and every shinobi nodded and obeyed.

Ryo was already engaged against the Kyuubi, landing several cuts on the Kyuubi only for the legendary beast to heal up the damage. The Kyuubi roared and tried to bite Ryo but the blue-haired Guardian released several lightning blasts at the Kyuubi, three of the lightning blasting on the Kyuubi.

This was followed up by several more ninjas throwing their own attacks, hurting the Kyuubi a little. Some were even cheering on Ryo although they knew nothing about him. The Kyuubi roared in anger and charged up for another Bijuu bomb but Ryo easily plunged his blade into the Kyuubi's left hind leg, stopping the channel of the Bijuu bomb.

Growing frustrated from the attacks, the Kyuubi threw a swipe with all its might and the attack was about to land on Ryo. The Guardian brought his blade forward and managed to block the attack but it was so strong Ryo was pushed back. As he was still soaring backwards, something soft touched his shoulder.

"What the…? Ryo muttered in confusion, looking back.

"Time you disappear!" Obito said and then began warping away.

Everyone that witnessed the event were surprised by the masked person and seconds later, the masked man and Ryo had disappeared, leaving everyone wondering where they had gone. However with the threat of the Kyuubi, all thoughts were soon back to focusing on defending Konoha against the Kyuubi.

"Whoever that man is, he's gone… Perhaps he has returned to wherever he was." Sarutobi mumbled and focused his situation back at hand. "Use long-range Ninjutsu to distract it!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"You two!" Sarutobi barked at two nearby ANBU captains. "Follow me, we're going to fight the Kyuubi head on!"

"At once, Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi then bit his thumb until a small dribble of blood appeared. He then slammed his hand on the ground, a black seal appearing from the palm of his hand. Instantly a large puff of smoke appeared and slowly, a figure appeared.

"King enma..! I need your assistance!" Sarutobi said with respect.

The summoned creature was a monkey with his arms crossed against his chest. The monkey saw the Kyuubi and immediately realized the severity of the situation. Without even uttering a single word, the monkey king transformed into a large metallic rod and Sarutobi grabbed hold of it.

"Alright! Let's go!"

***In a different dimension***

Ryo Azuma landed hard on solid ground and checked his surroundings. Around him were an innumerable amount of randomly arranged and differently sized rectangular prisms amongst a dark and seemingly endless void. Somehow it reminded of Ryo the room he lived in when watching over a world but somehow, this dimension was much larger than that.

To the far right, a black-hole appeared and the masked man appeared and glared at Ryo. "I cannot allow you to interfere with my plans. I will deal with you later…"

"What makes you think you can even keep me here?" Ryo questioned.

The masked man grinned under his mask. "Only my eye can bring me to this world. Now stay here until I have dealt with Konoha…"

With that the masked man began warping away again. Ryo quickly ran towards the mysterious man, calling out to him but the masked man's technique was too quick and in just a split second, the masked man had disappeared and left Ryo in the empty world. Ryo clenched his fists in anger, unable to believe he had let himself get caught.

"Damn it… I need to get out of here!"

***Outside Konoha gates***

The situation was growing dire for the Konoha ninjas as the Kyuubi was now easily wiping the ninjas out. Many were wounded with heavy injuries, even more were laying on the ground dead. Sarutobi was the only one remaining engaging the Kyuubi with his partner King Enma but it was not enough.

The other Konoha ninjas were helping the wounded back into the gates while the ANBU black opts supported the Sandaime Hokage from afar. The Kyuubi roared victoriously, swiping at the old Hokage. Sarutobi grunted in pain as he blocked the large paw of the Kyuubi using Enma.

"I can only take so much Sarutobi!" King Enma warned, bleeding slightly from blocking the attack. "Be careful how you use me!"

"Noted!"

Just as Sarutobi was about to prepare for his next assault, he spotted a familiar figure standing on the walls of Konoha. The appearance of the man brought great relief to him and the other ninjas that also saw him cheered at the arrival of their savior. Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had finally arrived.

Minato leaped from the walls and soared high into the air. The Kyuubi with its Sharingan-controlled eyes followed Minato, prepared to slap Minato away as if he was a fly. However Minato quickly made a set of seals and then lowered the palm of his left arm, a black seal forming in the air.

"Summoning technique!"

Out of nowhere a large toad orange in color appeared, landing directly on the Kyuubi. Minato then landed safely on the head of the large toad and Minato prepared for his next move. The Kyuubi growled angrily, trying to free itself from the enormous weight of the large toad but the toad itself was holding the Kyuubi down.

"Hoi Minato! What is the meaning of this? What the hell is Kyuubi doing here?" Gamabunta roared in anger.

"I'm sorry Gamabunta-sama…" Minato apologized. "Just buy me some time and hold the Kyuubi down…"

"I'll do what I can!" Gamabunta replied, struggling to hold the legendary monster down.

Minato knew he had very little time as he could see Gamabunta was struggling but he questioned whether his next move was the right one. However considering that the Kyuubi had broken free and Kushina was weak, he needed to act.

Minato closed his eyes and formed a seal. "I'm sorry… Kushina… Naruto…"

**A/N : END OF CHAPTER! Bam! Will Obito somehow interfere with what Minato is planning to do? And can Ryo assist in any way now that he is stuck in another dimension?**


	4. The New Jinchuuriki

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto as it all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto! Only ones that belong to me are my OC and whatever I might introduce**

**A/N: Here is the new chapter guys. Thanks for the favorites and the follows and the reviews. It really cheers me up! I hope you will enjoy this chapter so please continue to help me out if I have made a mistake in anything! Thanks!**

**Freshrice01 – Apologies about the misspelling of the Rikudo Sanin. Thanks for helping me out!**

**CHAPTER 4: THE NEW JINCHUURIKI**

Everyone that was involved in the defense of Konoha was in awe at the sight as the power of their Yondaime Hokage easily stopping the Kyuubi's rampage. The large toad was holding down the Kyuubi with its weight and Minato prepared for his next move.

Since Minato had temporarily disabled the Kyuubi, the other ninjas took this opportunity to pull the wounded back into Konoha. Only the Sandaime Hokage and a couple of ANBU black opts stayed behind to prepare in assisting Minato. The Kyuubi struggled to throw Gamabunta off but the toad boss was not having any of it.

Minato sighed and formed a seal. "I'm sorry Kushina… Naruto…"

Using an opposite method of the 'Flying Thunder God technique' Minato had placed a seal on Kushina and Naruto earlier. Now he activated the technique and instantly both were teleported next to Minato with Naruto in the arms of Kushina. The red-haired Uzumaki was already told of the plans so she was ready for it.

"Are you alright Kushina?" Minato asked with a concerned voice.

Kushina nodded, still weakened from the forced extraction earlier. "I… I can manage…"

Sarutobi and the ANBU black opts also noticed Kushina appearing next to her husband but none had any idea why Minato would bring her here. Sarutobi himself was surprised to see her, thinking she had died since the Kyuubi had been released. Although he was glad to see she was safe, Sarutobi knew they had to take action now while the Kyuubi was weakened.

"Alright everyone!" Sarutobi commanded, pointing in the direction of the Kyuubi. "Let's seal the Kyuubi!"

All of the ANBU black opts nodded and sprinted towards the demonic fox. A number of the ANBU black opts were already forming a number of seals for a high level Ninjutsu while others had other ninja tools in their hands. Minato noticed all of them coming including the Sandaime Hokage and not wanting to risk their lives, Minato created a set of his own seals.

Before Sarutobi or any of the ANBU black opts could take another step, a large barrier appeared out of nowhere and some of the ANBU that still continued running smashed into the barrier as if was a brick wall. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and touched the barrier, inspecting how powerful the barrier was.

"…We can't get it." Sarutobi finally said. "Minato is trying to handle this himself."

"But why?!" One of the ANBU black opt demanded. "We need to help him! He is going against the Kyuubi itself!"

Sarutobi nodded and looked at where Minato stood. "It is because he is fighting the Kyuubi… that he does not want us to get involved… He doesn't want anyone else to risk their lives."

The barrier was in the shape of a dome and covered a large area with the Kyuubi and Gamabuna in the center. After Minato was done with the barrier, he carried Kushina in his arms with Naruto being held by her and leaped off the head of Gamabunta. Once Minato was in a safe location, Minato laid Kushina on the ground safely.

"Are we really… going to have to… seal it in Naruto…?" Kushina asked weakly.

Minato shut his eyes in regret. "I… I know that whoever it was that attacked us earlier… is a grave threat to Konoha. I need to tell the Sandaime Hokage about it but the mask man intercepted me earlier. I fear that he will strike again so before that happens, sealing the Nine-tails within Naruto…"

"…Or you could seal it within me again…?" Kushina offered.

"You know if I seal it in you again you will die. You're already weakened from having the Nine-tails extracted and…"

"I know that…" Kushina interjected, coughing a little blood now. "But… I don't want our son to carry such a huge burden at such a young age… At least I…"

Kushina was at tears now, unable to fathom why it had to be this way. She had always wanted a family and now just when she finally had one, she was on the verge of death and Minato was going to sacrifice his life to seal the Kyuubi. That was why she offered to seal it once more in her, wanting Naruto to at least have one parent to look after him. She knew of the loneliness she had to endure when she was a child. By this point, Kushina was sobbing and Minato heard nothing but his wife's cries.

"Kushina it is my duty as the Hokage to protect the village. By abandoning my duty as the Hokage, it is almost the same as abandoning a child. I am sealing it in our son not only to protect Konoha now but also in the future. I believe that the masked man will attack again. By sealing the Nine-tails in Naruto, perhaps Naruto can one day learn to control the beast and use it to his advantage."

Kushina listened to her husband and after three seconds, she finally agreed with Minato's reasoning. The suddenly the Kyuubi roared, slowly lifting Gamabunta despite the toad boss's efforts.

"Ey Minato!" Gamabunta called out, immediately catching the attention of the blonde Hokage. "I don't mean to disturb you but I can't handle much longer…!"

Just as Gamabunta finished his line, the Kyuubi snarled loudly and threw the toad boss off its back. Gamabunta flew to the top and smashed the barrier but even the large size of the toad failed to break through the barrier. Gamabunta landed on his back, causing the earth to shake from its large size.

"Sorry but… that's it from me…!" Gamabunta apologized.

Minato gave a nod of thanks before the toad boss disappeared back to its world in a large puff of smoke. With the Kyuubi finally freed from the troublesome toad, it snarled its fangs at the Yondaime Hokage and its former host, preparing to attack.

"I… can still fight!" Kushina spoke towards the Kyuubi.

Kushina then released chakra chains from her back, immediately restraining the Kyuubi as the chakra chains tied the beast quickly. The Kyuubi struggled to break free from the chains but despite its strength, it failed to do so. Kushina grunted in pain but she managed to hold on, the chakra chains still active. With the Kyuubi secured once more, Minato began forming a number of complicated seals and Sarutobi who was reading the seals immediately recognized what the young Hokage was doing.

"Minato… Do you really have to use the 'Dead Demon Consuming' seal?" Sarutobi whispered but it was loud enough for the nearby ANBU black opt to pick up.

"The 'Dead Demon Consuming' seal? Is that not a double-edged technique?!"

Sarutobi said nothing but if those were the seals that Minato were setting up, Sarutobi knew that Minato was not only going to sacrifice his life but to also seal the Kyuubi in his newborn son. Kushina was present so that she could assist in the sealing Sarutobi reasoned. Sarutobi slammed the barrier with his fist in frustration as all he could do was watch the whole thing unfold.

"Sandaime-sama! Look!"

Sarutobi followed where the ANBU black opt was pointing and he too saw what the man was looking at. Unknown to Minato and Kushina, a black-hole had appeared from above them and the mask man appeared from the black-hole. Sarutobi screamed in hopes of warning Minato of the assailant but the barrier was too thick. Minato was about to complete the last seal and thus distracted, completely unaware of the masked man's presence.

The masked man landed directly behind Minato and grabbed hold of his Hokage robe. "You're mine!"

The masked man quickly began warping away until the Minato he grabbed released a puff of smoke and he revealed a piece of log in the mysterious man's hand instead. Minato was already far from him, Kushina and Naruto in his arms. The Yondaime Hokage placed Kushina back on the ground and left Naruto to his wife.

"You're really a fast guy, Hokage…" The masked man remarked.

"I knew you'd be back!" Minato said and immediately scattered his unique kunai all over the place.

"Heh, throwing them all over the place to take advantage of your Thunder Flying God technique…?" The masked man chuckled.

"Who are you…?" Minato questioned, not blinking at all. "Why did you release the Nine-Tails? What are your plans?"

The man shrugged, feigning little interest in answering. "My identity is not important nor is my objectives… But if you really must know why I am doing this… It is because it is for a plan… And also because I want to do this…" At that point the masked man cackled in laughter.

'Damn it, this man is dangerous…' Minato thought. 'He knew that the seal was weak only during the time of labor. He also seems to know a lot about Konoha and wants to destroy it… Not only that but he can also control the Nine-tails easily… Could he be…?'

"Are you… Uchiha Madara?" Minato asked.

At this point the masked man laughed once more. "If you wish to believe I am Uchiha Madara, so be it! Like I said, my identity is not important so if you find comfort that I am Madara, then think of me as Madara."

Minato stayed silent for a moment before he responded. "Well it doesn't matter then. What does matter is that I stop you tonight!"

Minato and the masked man stood in silence as if they were analyzing one another. Minato was at a disadvantage as he knew nothing of the masked man's abilities other than warping away. Before the two were about to begin their battle, the Kyuubi delivered another terrifying roar and broke one of the chakra chains, allowing it to slowly move.

"Minato hurry…!" Kushina said and coughed a little. "I cannot… hold much longer…"

This brief distraction allowed the masked man to appear before the Yondaime, reaching out for him. Minato quickly retaliated, thrusting his kunai forward but it met nothing, Minato's attack slipping through the masked man. Once Minato's arm was out of the masked man's body, the man quickly solidified once more and reached for Minato's arm.

In the split of a second Minato had appeared elsewhere, now next to a kunai he had thrown earlier and away from the masked man. The masked man, Obito this time stood where he was since wasting every second was to his advantage.

'He seems to phase through whenever I attack him but he solidifies himself once it is his turn to attack.' Minato observed. 'That means the only way to beat him is by attacking him when he attacks me… The victor will be decided by who is faster by a split-second.'

"What's the matter Yondaime Hokage…?" Obito taunted beneath his mask. "Have you finally met your match?"

"A little overconfident aren't you?"

The masked man merely laughed at the question. "You're just delaying the inevitable… Once you and your wife are out of the way, no one can stop the Nine-tails from destroying Konoha! You will fail as the Hokage and you cannot do anything to change that!"

***Another dimension***

Ryo Azuma wandered around the empty void, jumping from different rectangular prism to the other. Ryo found no luck in finding a way out no matter how far he walked and he was running out of time. With the Kyuubi still out there, Ryo needed to assist Konoha in defending the village and trying to restore the memories of Kurama.

However Ryo recalled that the masked man had said that the only way in and out of this dimension was through his eye. Ryo sat down on one of the rectangular prisms, wondering who the man was. He knew that the ninjas of that world wore headbands to distinguish where they were from but Ryo saw no headband from the masked man.

'Great… I need to hurry back…' Ryo thought.

Ryo closed his eyes and tried to come up with a way to get out of the dimension. However the pressure of him failing kept nagging at him, reminding him of the consequences should he fail in protecting the world he was assigned to. For just a moment, he remembered the terrible memories he had for his mistakes.

**Flashback**

"You killed him!" A voice accused in disgust.

"If it weren't for you, he would have lived!" Another voice added in.

"You were assigned to that world and instead he had to clean up your mess!" A third voice said.

Ryo said nothing but stare down at the ground, too ashamed to respond to any of the accusations. What could he say? They were right; it was because of his attitude that had killed the man. This was already a normal routine to him and despite the years that passed by, the guilt never escaped him.

Ryo, the person whom was so proud of his skills and power of the Guardian had been pushed to the very bottom among his kin. He was nothing but thrash, some even saying that he was lower than that. Ryo had to live through those moments for the rest of his life… until he was given the opportunity to clear his reputation.

"Are you sure about this…?" A loud voice questioned Ryo. "If you fail… do you know what we will be forced to do…?"

Ryo Azuma said nothing but merely nodded a positive without any hesitation. The large figure before him stayed silent and discussed silently with his peers. In a minute they came to a conclusion and the same large figure looked down at Ryo.

"You have our approval but let me tell you this Ryo, the Blade of Lightning… I pray that you succeed for your own sake… Because if you fail us once more… You know the consequences!"

With that the large figure snapped his fingers and opened a large gateway for Ryo to go through. With one last glance at his superior, Ryo ran through the gateway.

**Flashback End**

Ryo suddenly opened his eyes and realized the answer to escaping from this accursed dimension had been laid before him. Ryo was already a Guardian and had the privilege of being able to use gateways to travel across worlds and dimensions. Ryo got back to his feet and channeled energy around him.

After half a minute had gone by, Ryo's right hand had a purple aura on it. Ryo then opened the palm of his right hand and suddenly in front of him, a doorway appeared. Ryo grinned happily and was unable to believe that something so complex could have been solved so easily; at least for him anyway. Now he could hurry back to this world and prove to the others what he failed to do so in the past!

"Alright, time to get out of this dimension!" Ryo said and ran for the gateway.

***Inside the barrier of Minato***

Minato and Obito had been dueling against one another for the past two minutes with no success. In the background of their battle, the Kyuubi was still struggling to escape from the chakra chains that Kushina had trapped him with. Outside of the barrier, the Sandaime Hokage and the other black opt ANBU could only watch as they were unable to break through the barrier.

Inside Konoha the ANBU were still directing the villagers to a safe zone. Another duty of the ANBU at the moment was to prevent the young ninjas below the age of 18 to stay within the village. Ninjas such as Kakashi, Asuma and Gai and others whom were promising ninjas were ordered to not take part in the defense and instead assist in protecting the villagers.

Once again Minato and Obito charged one another for another duel. As the two closed in, Obito began warping objects from the other dimension and from his eye; several large shurikens appeared from out of nowhere. Minato rolled to his left and avoided the shurikens but by doing so, Obito managed to grab hold of Minato.

Obito began warping but Minato had already disappeared and this time, there was a kunai right behind Obito. Minato appeared behind Obito and quickly attacked. Obito quickly phased out but he was a little too slow, Minato's kunai delivering a small cut across Obito's left forearm, blood spilling from the wound.

"You can't beat me in speed." Minato said and jumped away.

Obito stayed silent this time, upset that despite the power of Kamui he still suffered a wound. The two were about to go into another round when the Kyuubi roared in anger, breaking another two of Kushina's chakra chains and slowly gaining more movement. Kushina struggled to keep up but she was already too weak and could barely hold the Kyuubi at this point.

"Minato… I can't…" Kushina said while still struggling to hold onto the Kyuubi.

Obito began cackling in laughter like a madman as he watched Minato's troubled face. "You have wasted too much time fighting against me! Now once Kushina is unable to hold the Kyuubi, you can't seal him! And with the Kyuubi, I will easily get rid of the two of you and your son!"

Minato dashed towards Kushina, kneeling next to her. "Are you alright?"

Kushina nodded slowly but it was clear she was in pain. "The Nine-tails… We have… to…"

"Don't worry, I'll think of something. You need to rest, I can handle…"

"Minato! Behind you!"

Minato's eyes widen when he realized he had forgotten all about the masked man. Obito had appeared directly behind the Yondaime Hokage and grabbed hold of the Yondaime's head.

"This time you won't escape from me…" Obito declared with an evil tone.

However before Obito could warp Minato away, a beam of lightning blasted nearby and the impact was so powerful that Obito jumped away on instinct and releasing Minato. Several more lightning struck the area randomly before a gateway suddenly appeared. Minato, Kushina and Obito knew nothing what was going on and even the Kyuubi itself was shocked by the sudden blast of lightning and stopped its escape for a moment.

From the gateway Ryo emerged and he jumped out of the gateway and landed on his feet. Obito was wide eyed upon witnessing the return of the blue-haired man since by right there was no other possible way to exit the dimension. Sarutobi for one was glad that the blue-haired man had returned and not to mention the man was within the barrier itself. Minato recognized the man whom was fighting the Kyuubi earlier but he was still not sure whether Ryo was friend or foe.

Obito cursed with an angry glare at Ryo. "You escaped…? How?!"

Unfortunately Ryo could not answer as the Kyuubi finally broke free from the chakra chains that bound him. Obito quickly forgot about Ryo's arrival and was glad that the beast was released and could now resume the destruction of Konoha.

Kushina groaned in pain and was at the point of collapsing but Minato grabbed hold of her quickly. "I… I'm sorry…" Kushina apologized.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Minato assured but then realized they were now in a terrible situation. "We need to somehow stop it again before I commence the sealing!"

"I can't… use the chakra chains again… Too low… on chakra…" Kushina said softly, panting heavily.

The Kyuubi was still under the control of the masked man and glared at Minato and Kushina since they were his biggest threats. With its targets in sight, the Kyuubi released a magnificent roar and then charged for a Bijuu bomb. Unluckily for the legendary beast, Ryo had no intention of allowing the Kyuubi to do as it please. Gathering energy into the palm of both of his hands, Ryo then raised his arms up and released the energy on to the top of the barrier. The energy then transformed into a large lightning net, the sound of a high voltage electricity heard throughout the barrier as if a thousand birds were chirping.

The large electrifying net landed on the Kyuubi and despite its look, the electrifying net was heavier than some of the giant summons and was able to pin the Kyuubi down. Also the high voltage continued to electrocute the Kyuubi and hence managed to hold the Kyuubi in its place. The sounds of the Kyuubi growling in pain were heard but thanks to the regenerative factor, the Kyuubi could not be killed by the electrifying net.

"What…? This is impossible!" Obito snarled in anger.

"Who's the careless one now?" Minato whispered as he appeared next to Obito.

Obito spun around only to find Minato slamming a Rasengan deep into chest. Minato also managed to place a seal on Obito's stomach before Obito begun spinning away. Obito crashed into a tree, nearly breaking through the bark, groaning in pain. Before Obito could even gather his footing, Minato appeared in front of Obito and delivered another Rasengan on Obito's shoulder, throwing Obito into the earth and creating a small crater.

Dust and debris scattered the area as Minato drove Obito further into the earth with another Rasengan. Minato was panting by then and was finished with the masked man, certain he was dead. Obito had been driven at least three feet into the crater, spiral marks on his back and shoulder from being hit by the Rasengan.

Just as Minato exited the crater, Obito was already up and jumped out of the crater.

"What…? Still alive?" Minato uttered in disbelief.

Obito clutched his wounds and glared at the Yondaime Hokage in pain. "You truly are the Yondaime Hokage… You may have stopped the destruction of Konoha tonight but I will return and when I do, this time I will not be stopped!"

Minato said nothing and Obito began warping away, disappearing a few seconds later. Minato held no doubts that the masked man would make his return and it was because of that that he needed to give his son a power source. Ryo approached the blonde Hokage and even from afar he could definitely see the resemblance he had with Naruto.

"Thank you for your help…" Minato said gratefully once Ryo reached him.

"It had to be done; the Nine-tails was already causing too much trouble."

"Who are you…? You're an unfamiliar one and you don't have a headband. Are you a mercenary?"

Ryo shook his head. "I serve no village but I have come because I need to help your son, Naruto."

"Naruto…?"

At this point the Kyuubi roared as it tried to escape from the electrifying net. Ryo gave one glance at the Kyuubi then back at Minato. "We're almost out of time. All I can tell you right now is that I know the future and I am an ally of Konoha. I'm here to assist Naruto when he grows up but I cannot say more now!"

Minato nodded. "You're right; we need to seal the Nine-tails now before something else happens. Still at least tell me your name…"

"It's Ryo Azuma…" Ryo answered.

Minato gave a smile of kindness and then focused at the Kyuubi. Even the Yondaime could tell that despite the electrical net was hurting the Kyuubi, it could not hold the Kyuubi for much longer. Minato quickly began forming the complicated seals once more. With each seal, Kushina watched on with sadness as it would mean a terrible result.

"Minato… Let me do the sealing…" Kushina offered weakly. "I'm already going to die… At least… let my death be… worthwhile."

"You can still be healed!" Minato exclaimed. "I want Naruto to at least have a parent to look over him. As his mother you can take care of him and teach him what I probably couldn't…"

"I… don't know how much longer I can live…" Kushina replied with tears in her eyes. "Most should have died by having a tailed-beast extracted but… I am also… weakening…"

By then Minato finished the final seal and summoned the death God, a white demonic figure hovering behind Minato. The demonic figure also had prayer beads on its left hand and was chanting something an unintelligible language softly. After that Minato's soul was partially separated from his body and Minato could now begin the sealing.

"Wait! There might be a way I can restore your health." Ryo said to Kushina.

Both Minato and Kushina turned towards the blue-haired man. "What?"

'It is possible but the risk I might pay is high.' Ryo thought and then kneeled next to Kushina. 'Although it is barely there, she does have a strong lineage to Hiro, the Rikudo Sanin… as he's a Guardian… I can maybe restore her from this connection.'

"Can… can you save her, Ryo…?" Minato asked with a shaking voice.

"It's worth a shot."

Ryo looked at Kushina's eyes directly and he saw into her soul. After confirming that although the lineage with Hiro was weak, it was stronger than others. Quickly Ryo drew his sword and placed his sword on the ground. He then began channeling energies from the seal located from the sword, a red stream of boundless energy connecting between the seal and the palm of Ryo's hand. Five seconds later the channeling was done and the seal on Ryo's blade was gone, all the red energy bundled up into the palm of Ryo's hand.

"Alright here we go!"

Ryo slammed the palm of his hand into Kushina's stomach, exactly where her seal once was. Kushina gasped and could feel Ryo's hand penetrating through her but although it shocked her, it caused no harm to her. Minato watched on as Ryo continued to spread the energies into her and after half a minute, it was done.

Kushina coughed a little and panted as if she had just run a marathon. However while she was weakened earlier, she could feel her energies and vitality coursing through her body. After a while Kushina was in a state of disbelief, unable to believe that she might actually live through this despite having the Kyuubi ripped from her.

However Ryo felt he had lost something and felt his powers drained from him. The seal he had extracted from his blade was a part of his strength as a Guardian and while he could probably still fight, he felt that his powers had been reduced by quite a number.

For a moment Minato and Kushina forgot about the moment, hugging one another from joy. Ryo held onto Naruto as his parents shared one last passionate kiss before Minato had to sacrifice his life. After their last moment together, Minato broke the kiss and looked at Ryo.

"Ryo I don't know how you did it but I thank you for saving Kushina… This means…a lot to me and my family…" Minato said.

"I did what was necessary." Ryo replied.

"Ryo, I know we just met but I have one last request…"

"What is it?"

"Can you look after my family… after I'm gone? Please…"

Ryo smirked and crossed his chest. "Yondaime Hokage… I will swear on my life that I will watch over your family."

Minato gave a smile of thanks and then at Kushina. It was one last look they would share before Minato proceeded with the final sealing of his life. Kushina summoned a ceremonial pedestal and placed their son on it. With the preparations done and nothing to interfere with the sealing, Minato began the sealing at once.

Although the Kyuubi was still under the control of the Sharingan, since Obito had finally disappeared from the scene the Kyuubi slowly regained its will and conscious back. Just as the Kyuubi regained full control of its actions, it immediately realized it was being sealed into a small baby. The Kyuubi resisted and roared in anger but none could oppose the Death God.

Just before the Kyuubi was sealed Kurama spotted Ryo standing behind Minato. It remembered fighting against the monster but at that period it was being controlled by the Sharingan. Now that it was no longer under the influence of Obito, Kurama instantly regained his memories about the other world and why he was repeating the same event of destroying Konoha.

'**So… it actually worked…' **Kurama thought before it was finally sealed into a young Naruto.

Minato grunted in pain and fell to his knees as the Death God began extracting his soul as well. As Naruto began crying and Kushina shed some tears, Minato gave a gentle smile of seeing his family one last time before he passed on. Minato landed on his back on the cold earth, staring up into the night sky. Slowly he closed his eyes and after that… peace…

Sarutobi watched the whole scene and bit his lip in regret. He could have taken Minato's place in sealing the Kyuubi with the Death God especially since Minato was still so young as a Hokage. However Sarutobi reasoned that Minato never did something so carelessly and if Minato hurried to seal the Kyuubi, Sarutobi felt that it was because he had little time.

With the death of Minato Namikaze, the barrier that Minato created slowly disappeared and the ANBU black opts along with Sarutobi quickly rushed in. Most of the ANBU black opt hurried to their fallen Hokage in hopes that he was still alive, some even pouring healing chakra but it was useless. None could revive the dead and Minato had passed on.

Sarutobi approached Kushina and the crying Naruto and Ryo who was standing nearby. The old Hokage could see the black seal on Naruto's stomach and knew that he was the new Jinchuuriki and his mother, whom had survived the extraction, was still alive.

"I'm sorry Kushina…" Saruboti said sadly.

Kushina gave a soft smile and held Naruto lovingly. "It's okay Sandaime… Minato… He did it to protect the village and he did it with no regrets."

Sarutobi nodded. "I see… That is the Minato I know indeed." Sarutobi actually chuckled despite being saddened by the heroic sacrifice of Minato. "I guess I should tell Jiraiya the bad news if he comes by..."

Kushina nodded sadly. "I know he won't take the news well. That perverted old man... He really liked Minato..."

The ANBU black opts were now carrying the body of Minato in respect and despite their harsh code to not show any emotion, even the best ninjas failed to hold their emotions at times such as these. Kushina could not watch any longer, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"Naruto is the new Jinchuuriki…" Kushina said softly, looking down at her son. "I wish… that he did not have to carry the burden at such a young age."

Sarutobi stared at the small blonde baby. "At least you will be there for him… You can teach him and protect him. Give him the love and care that a child needs and also as a host…"

Kushina nodded and the two shared some moments of silence. By then most of the ninjas were already out of the gates of Konoha to see what had happened. Many cheered at the top of their lungs, unknown to them that their young Hokage had given his life to protect them.

"Now then, I have to thank you young man for helping us protect the village." Sarutobi spoke towards Ryo. "So who are you…?"

Ryo looked at the Hokage in the eyes and then nodded at the Hokage tower. "Perhaps we can speak elsewhere that is more… quiet?"

***An hour later, Hokage tower***

Ryo had explained everything to the Sandaime Hokage; that he was a Guardian from a different time, why he came back to the past and why he needed to speak with the Yondaime. Sarutobi listened everything and although he would doubt the truth in this, the power that Ryo displayed and what he did to protect Konoha convinced him.

Kushina too was also present and could barely believe what she had heard. Ryo had explained about the Rikudo Sanin and though many had thought it was a myth, Ryo confirmed that he existed at one point and Kushina, although her blood carried little of it at this point, was still a descendant to the Rikudo Sanin.

"So if you're from the future why don't you stop the disaster from happening now? Why do you have to wait for Naruto to regain his memories?" Sarutobi questioned.

"Because this is an alternate timeline at this point." Ryo reported. "By going back in time and changing events, even I cannot predict if the future will follow exactly what happened in the original world. There might have been some changes and I need to know what Naruto can tell is following the timeline and what is different."

Sarutobi nodded and then lit his pipe. "I see… So since we are not sure of whether history will repeat itself, we should not let others know you're from the future then."

"That would be the best course of action."

"Well since Minato himself appointed you to watch over his family, I think the council can accept you as an ally of Konoha…" Sarutobi explained. "Not to mention I'm sure some have already seen your display of power. I doubt they would want to make an enemy out of you."

Ryo merely smiled at that but even he questioned his own powers. By assisting in restoring Kushina's vitality earlier, his powers had diminished significantly and it would take some time before Ryo could recover his strength. But Ryo merely kept that piece of information to himself.

"It also looks like I'll have to reclaim the position of Hokage." Sarutobi remarked dreadfully. "Well its better than letting Danzo take over but I hope we can find a suitable candidate soon."

Kushina giggled at the Hokage's distress. "Sandaime-sama, if you'll excuse me I'll take my leave."

Sarutobi nodded and she left the office. Since Ryo had already divulged everything the Sandaime needed to know, there was nothing left for Ryo to say.

"I will arrange a place for you to stay Ryo." Sarutobi said. "But remember that you're now working with Konoha. While I know your duty as a Guardian comes as top priority, do try to not jeopardize our relations."

"I will do my best, Hokage-sama…"

Sarutobi nodded and then turned to look outside the windows. The stars lit brightly in the night and it was a wonder how much had taken place on such a peaceful night. With the appearance of Ryo, a Guardian from another world, Sarutobi knew that times were going to be different now in Konoha.

***Elsewhere in a secret location***

"Damn him!" Obito cursed in anger and slammed his fist against the wall. "If that blue-haired man didn't appear… Konoha would have fallen!"

"Well at least the Yondaime died…" A voice said trying to cheer Obito up.

"Shut up!" Obito snarled in anger. "He might have died but… That Uzumaki woman still lives! She should have died from having the Kyuubi pulled out!"

Zetsu remained silent and regretted spilling the beans that Kushina had survived the ordeal. Obito continued cursing inside their hide-out, clearly upset that the surprise attack had not been completely successful.

Obito took a seat and was still fuming at his failure. Obito had done his research and knew that the blue-haired man was not among the Konoha force. Not to mention that the same man had escaped the dimension from Kamui, something that no one should have been able to do so easily.

'So who the hell is he?!' Obito thought angrily. 'How did he escape the other dimension? How could he have been able to fight the Kyuubi on equal terms…? Damn it all to hell!'

In his anger Obito failed to sense the presence of two unknown figures entering his secret hideout. Zetsu too was surprised by the sudden arrival of unexpected guests and what even surprised Zetsu more was the overwhelming power the two had.

"Uchiha Obito…?" The first figure said.

"Wha…? Who are you? How did you get in here?!" Obito demanded and got back to his feet, activating his Mangekyou Sharingan.

The other figure raised his hands in a passive manner. "Relaxed… We're not here to harm you."

"That's right." The other figure added in. "We're here to… lend you a hand…"

Obito eyed them suspiciously. "Who are you…? What do you want?"

The two figures smiled. "Who are we…? I guess you could say we're not from your world…"

Obito had a confused look in his eyes and the strangers spoke once more. "We're what you can call… Guardians of worlds… The same kin of that blue-haired swordsman."

Obito's ears perked up and his interest immediately increased. With a smile, Obito welcomed the two strangers.

**A/N: END OF CHAPTER! Thus the attack of Konoha ends but Kushina lives on! So who are these two 'Guardians?' Why would they want to assist Obito? What are their plans? Also what lies for the fate of Naruto now that he still has his mother? **


	5. Peace Offerings

**Disclaimer: All characters here are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I do not own anyone except of those of my OC**

**A/N: Hei guys here is the new chapter. I would like to thank everyone that has reviewd, favorite and followed this story. Really, you guys are the best. I hope my work is to your enjoyment and I will continue to try and improve. Drop a review if you need to express your thoughts on how I'm doing and what I should improve on.**

**CHAPTER 5: PEACE OFFERINGS**

Three years had passed since the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha had passed. Although many had died giving their lives in protecting their home village, the young generation grew and replaced those who had lost. Many would never forget that tragic day as many had lost a father, wife, brother, sister and other loved ones.

Because many noticed the Kyuubi was being controlled by the Sharingan, many suspected that the Uchiha were behind the attacks. Fortunately for the Uchiha, many had spotted the masked man attacking Minato including the Sandaime and thus the blame were placed on the mysterious masked man as an Uchiha. However despite that others were still wary around the Uchiha.

Uchiha Fugaku for years had tried to restore his clan's reputation and although he was slowly earning the trust of the people, it was hard work and as the clan's head he wondered if his efforts were even worth it. Uchiha Fugaku wondered if his clan should have taken arms with Uchiha Madara all those years ago when instead they abandoned their leader during his time of need. However that was in the past and Fugaku wanted to focus the present time.

In the years that had gone by, Ryo was currently a ninja of Konoha but he only served the Hokage. Kushina had said that Minato placed the trust of taking of care of her and Naruto rest on Ryo's shoulders and although the Council wanted Ryo to participate on missions, Sarutobi affirmed his position as the Hokage and to respect Minato's wishes. Ryo's identity as a Guardian was kept a secret and the only ones who knew of this were Sarutobi and Kushina and in the future, Naruto.

It was a bright day in Konoha as the civilians proceeded to begin with their daily activities. There were merchants advertising their products to be sold, farmers attending to their crops in the fields and then children running to attend the Ninja academy. It was a wonderful morning to watch the happy villagers living their lives and the ninjas that were patrolling the vicinity of Konoha to protect them.

Kushina Uzumaki was busy in the kitchen as she was preparing the breakfast for Naruto and herself. Although she was still a Ninja, Kushina only took missions if she had to; otherwise Kushina was currently working as an academy instructor. However because Kushina knows of Ryo's identity, if anything that concerned his duty as a Guardian Kushina had to be present with the Hokage and discuss matters with the both of them.

Ever since the death of her husband she wanted to take good care of Naruto and missions could jeopardize her safety. The Sandaime Hokage granted her request of being an academy instructor and only calling for her only if he had to.

"Here you go Naruto." Kushina said and placed his meal on the table. "Now eat up, alright?"

Naruto pouted at the meal. "But… I want Ramen…"

"Hei Ramen isn't good for you! You should eat something healthy for a change!" Kushina scolded and returned to making her breakfast.

"But mom…. I don't like waffles…" Naruto whined.

"No buts! Now hurry up and eat your breakfast! I've got to go soon or I'll be late!"

"Heh it's your fault for introducing him to Ramen so young…" A voice teased from the kitchen entryway.

Kushina rolled her eyes. "I didn't introduce it to him on purpose. He just wanted a taste and… well whatever!"

"Oh, Hei spiky Ryo!" Naruto called happily.

Unfortunately for Ryo Naruto had not yet regained his memories regarding travelling back to the past. Ryo could not communicate with the Kyuubi as well since Kushina wanted Naruto to know of the Kyuubi when he was older. So although the Kyuubi had its memories, he could not speak with the Kyuubi yet.

"Well listen to your mother Naruto. She's right you know? Eating Ramen is not really healthy…" Ryo advised and took a seat on the dining table opposite of Naruto.

Naruto fumed for a while but he ate his meal. Ryo removed his gigantic blade from his back and placed his sword by a wall, leaning on it. Kushina was finished with her cooking and took a seat, placing a plate on the table and taking a seat. She took note of Ryo's sword and saw that the seal on his weapon was still not restored, only about a quarter of the seal was seen.

"How long does it take before your seal returns fully…?" Kushina asked.

Ryo shrugged, looking at his sword where the seal once was. "It will take some time until it is fully restored. Until then, my power's as a Guardian has been weakened by some but over the three years, it's coming back slowly."

"Well, I'm sorr-"

"I told you that you don't have to apologize." Ryo interrupted. "If I hadn't done it, you might have…" Ryo stopped what he was saying as he did not wish for Naruto to know. "Well… Yeah…"

The serious conversation then and Kushina and Naruto shared a hearty breakfast. Ryo merely listened to the conversation shared between mother and son, smiling as Kushina helped Naruto with his meal. Although by saving Kushina's life cost Ryo his powers, the blue-haired Guardian felt it was worth it.

The young life of Naruto Uzumaki was now much different than in the original timeline where he was scorned and hated by the village. Now the villagers acknowledged Naruto as the son of the 4th and the one who saved them but they were also worried; worried that Naruto was still too young and could not hold back the Kyuubi. However many found relief that Kushina was once a host and would teach her son how to hold the Kyuubi at bay.

"Yo…"

Hatake Kakashi appeared from the backdoor and entered the kitchen. The young ninja whom was famed as the 'Copy Ninja' and the only remaining student of Minato was no longer among the ANBU and donned the regular Jounin uniform of Konoha although he still wore the gloves that ANBU's worn.

"Kakashi, thanks for coming!" Kushina greeted cheerfully.

"Kakashi…!" Naruto greeted with a mouthful.

Kakashi gave a small wave at the young Naruto and took a seat opposite of Kushina and next to Ryo. "Hei Ryo." Ryo returned the greeting. "So how long do I have to be here Kushina-san?"

"I thought I told you to drop the honorifics." Kushina chastised. "But anyway… I just need you to watch over Naruto until I'm done at the academy. Thank you so much for doing this Kakashi."

"Well I don't have any missions assigned today so it's the least I could do for sensei as his student. Besides, I can catch up with my book."

Upon hearing that Kushina's killing intent actually soared dramatically and had a death glare on Kakashi. "You better not read that damn book while watching over my son! I don't want him to pick up any bad habits from you!"

Kakashi sweat dropped in fear. "Ri…Right… I'll remember that."

With the threat delivered Kushina finished her meal and stood up from her seat. "Alright I'll be going now." She then gave a death glare at Kakashi once more. "You better be careful..!"

Kushina then left her home and made her way to the academy leaving Naruto under the care of the Copy Ninja. By then Naruto was done with his meal and Kakashi helped him out of his chair. Ryo also noticed that it was time for him to go and got up from his seat, strapping his blade to his back.

"The Hokage's got some big news to tell you." Kakashi said.

"What's it about…?"

"You'll find out when you get there." Kakashi answered. "As for me… I've got to take care of Naruto."

Ryo nodded and headed out of the Uzumaki home and from outside he could hear Naruto asking Kakashi to teach him some ninja stuff. Ryo grinned evilly at the thought of Kakashi having to endure a hyperactive Naruto.

Some of the villagers waved at Ryo as he passed by. Ever since his arrival and his role he played in defending the village, many of the villagers welcomed him with open arms. The value of kindness the people showed was something Ryo had not been given for some time and he cherished it.

Ryo entered the familiar Hokage and ascended the stairs towards the top floor where the Hokage's office was located. In this time of day the Hokage tower was filled with life as administrators were busy doing their jobs, the occasional ANBU patrolling the building and ninjas heading towards the mission hall for their missions.

Once Ryo had arrived before the Sandaime's office, Ryo knocked on the door gently three times before he turned the knob and entered the office. The Hokage welcomed the Guardian and gestured for Ryo to close the door. Ryo did so and then approached the Hokage, eager to find out what the Hokage wanted to tell him.

Ryo began the conversation. "Is there something you needed to tell me, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi nodded and took out his pipe, lighting it up. "Ryo… Do you know about the current situation between Konoha and Kumogakure (Lightning village)?"

"Erm… From what I've gathered, we currently have a shaky relationship, right?"

"That is correct." Sarutobi answered, releasing a puff of smoke. "Although the last Great Ninja War ended approximately four years ago, Konoha had not fully restored friendly relations with Kumogakure. It isn't so bad to the point where we'd openly fight one another but tensions are still high."

"I see…"

"However just a few days ago Kumogakure contacted Konoha and they wanted to establish a peace treaty with Konoha. The peace emissaries will be arriving in Konoha tomorrow to begin the treaty and we will have our own representatives as well; I am of course included as a representative." Sarutobi explained.

"So will their Raikage be among them as well?"

"I don't believe so."

Ryo was already beginning to feel suspicious at this point. "And they actually wish to conduct negotiations here in Konoha? Would it not be better to negotiate in a neutral location?"

Sarutobi sighed and nodded in agreement. "I agree and that is precisely why I have called you here. We fear that Kumogakure might have another motive for wanting to be in Konoha. However the Council also does not wish to ruin our chance to make peace with Kumo. So we will begin our treaties here."

Ryo crossed his arms over his chest. "So why are you telling me all of this?"

"There will a total of five representatives from each side. Other than me the head of the Hyuuga and Uchiha clan will be with us along with two of my advisors, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. The reason why I am telling you this is that I wish for you to be present in the meeting as well." Sarutobi enlightened, watching Ryo's expressions.

Ryo absorbed and processed the information before he asked the next question. "Will it be fine for me to be present?"

"Hyuuga Hizashi will also be present to guard his brother. I am sure the Kumo side will have their own guards as well." Sarutobi explained and then removing his pipe from his lips. "Other than guarding me and my advisors, I wish for you to be present to watch for anything that might… be out of the ordinary."

"…You're expecting something?"

"It is just a feeling that tells me I have to be cautious." Sarutobi confessed. "However I will be dealing peacefully with Kumo and if something suspicious occurs, I prefer to not jeopardize the peace negotiations. However you can excuse yourself and act upon it."

"I see… Well Hokage-sama, I'll make sure that the meeting proceeds as smoothly as possible." Ryo said with a grin and then paused for a moment. Sarutobi saw that Ryo had a question and urged the Guardian to ask. "I'm surprised Danzo will not be among the representatives."

"Danzo does not participate in these types of events." Sarutobi replied. "He concerns himself more to the military aspect of Konoha and the safety of it as well… That means the darker side of Konoha."

"He also seems to not trust me. I can feel it when his gaze lands on me."

Sarutobi chuckled at that. "It is… his nature. However he is very loyal to Konoha although his methods can be extreme but what he does… He does it in the best interest of Konoha."

The two shared a moment of silence, Ryo not knowing what to say. When Sarutobi explained about Danzo's role in Konoha, Ryo thought he saw some sadness in the eyes of Sarutobi. However it was only for a moment and it passed by quickly that Ryo merely shrugged it off. Since the small briefing was over, Ryo excused himself and left the Hokage tower.

Sarutobi sighed and returned to his paperwork, picking a paper from one of the stack of papers. However he could not concentrate on it since speaking about his old friend Danzo, he wondered how they had drifted apart. When they were young, they were such close friends that were passionate about their village, Konoha, in their own way. However as the years passed and Sarutobi became Hokage, Danzo lost his old self.

'Danzo… What happened to us…?' Sarutobi thought sadly.

***Uzumaki home***

"Hoi Naruto… Aren't you tired?" Kakashi spoke.

Before the Copy Ninja was Naruto running wildly around the backyard with a number of paper shurikens scattered across the area. Naruto laughed instead at Kakashi's question and picked up a paper shuriken and threw them towards Kakashi. Despite his young age, his aim was perfect as the paper shuriken flew towards Kakashi.

Kakashi caught the paper shuriken between his index and middle finger. "Seriously… Why can't you sit down and read a book?"

"That's because you won't train me!" Naruto retorted and ran to pick up other paper shurikens.

"Kids your age should not think so much of training. Go have fun because when you grow up, training is probably going to be a regular thing in your life." Kakashi advised.

Naruto ignored Kakashi's words and once again tossed several paper shurikens at Kakashi only for the white-haired Jounin to catch them easily and threw the paper back towards the blonde. The young Uzumaki then ran for the paper shurikens, picking them up and the process would repeat.

Kakashi watched his sensei's son happily running around and wondered how Naruto would do when he entered the academy in three years' time. He had heard that the lives of Jinchuuriki were hard as they were ill-treated but so far in Konoha, the adults treated Naruto normally and were only insecure about Naruto's potential as a host. Of course Naruto does not know he possesses the Kyuubi but he would find out in the future.

'When's Kushina-san coming back? I want to read my book.' Kakashi thought with anime tears rolling down his cheeks in his head.

"How's Naruto so far?" A voice inquired from behind Kakashi.

Kakashi instantly recognized the voice. "Ah Ryo, you're back. I take it the Hokage has already explained what is about to happen?"

Ryo nodded and Kakashi continued. "The Hokage wanted me also to watch the situation but… I've already an A-rank mission tomorrow."

"…What do you think about Kumogakure actually coming to Konoha for a treaty?" Ryo asked, wanting another opinion.

Kakashi remained silent and simply watched Naruto playing on the grass. After a while Kakashi released a sigh and turned to look at Ryo. "I don't know… I'd give them the benefit of the doubt but still be cautious. They might be after something here in Konoha."

Ryo at least now had another opinion who shared the same idea. Naruto was so absorbed with the paper shurikens that the young boy had not noticed Ryo's arrival. It was only after the boy had gathered all the paper shurikens that Naruto turned and found Ryo standing next to Kakashi.

"Spiky Ryo!"

Kakashi smirked and bumped Ryo's shoulder. "Well I'm off. You can take care of Naruto right? I'm going to go and continue my book."

Ryo shook his head in disbelief, chuckling at the silver-haired ninja. "You better hope Kushina doesn't catch you reading that perverted book."

Kakashi laughed and then went off, waving one last time at Naruto. The young blonde then proceeded to now focus on Ryo and threw all of the paper shurikens at once. Ryo merely grinned and created a field of static electricity. Once the papers passed through the field, Ryo then tossed them back at Naruto.

Naruto avoided all of them and it was impressive for a boy so young. Ryo devised this to play and train Naruto at the same time. At his young age, Naruto was almost better than most academy students. There were many other games Ryo played with Naruto to help improve Naruto and of course as Ryo spent time with the young ninja, the Guardian slowly saw Naruto as a little brother.

After taking Naruto for a quick lunch, Ryo took a short nap in the living room of the Uzumaki household while Naruto played on his own in his room. Eventually the young boy also fell asleep for his own afternoon nap. The hours flew by and it was around three in the afternoon when Kushina returned.

"Ah Ryo, you're here… Where's Naruto?" Kushina asked with a baggage of groceries in her hands.

Ryo rubbed his eyes sleepily and then had a big yawn. "Eh… He should be taking a nap right now, as usual."

"Well go freshen yourself up, I'll go and get Naruto." Kushina ordered as she placed the bag of groceries on the kitchen's counter.

"Huh…? Why? What are we doing?"

"Well I made a promise to drop by the Hyuuga compound today with Hiashi. Mikoto-san will be there too."

Ryo raised an eyebrow at that. "Hyuuga Hiashi…? Why are we going there?"

"It's just for a casual meeting to help with the relations between clans. I am the remaining member of the Uzumaki clan and Mikoto is a good friend of mine." Kushina explained and then entered Naruto's room, waking her son up.

"…Why do I have to come?"

"Because I'm sure Hiashi would like to see you. He's interested in your abilities ever since the incident." Kushina informed Ryo.

Ryo was not particularly fond with the Hyuuga clan simply because they were too traditional in his case. He felt that the clan were too serious and needed to loosen up a little. Kushina appeared with Naruto still sleepy and then with everyone ready, the trio departed.

As the three walked in the streets, the villagers had already shared a rumor that Ryo was the suitor to Kushina. Of course Ryo rejected the idea and claimed he was only there to look after Kushina and Naruto in Minato's place. While he admits that Kushina was a beautiful woman, his sense of honor would not allow the Guardian to develop any romantic feelings for her.

"Hei mom, where are we going again?"

"To the Hyuuga compound dear." Kushina responded.

"Hyuuga…? Is that another clan like the Uchiha…?"

Kushina nodded and Naruto had a slight interest. "Hmm… I wonder if there's someone around my age, like Sasuke!"

As they passed by the central district of Konoha, many who noticed Kushina bowed slightly and spoke with her for a moment. They also spoke with Naruto, taking note of the resemblance Naruto had with his father and even added in that they hoped Naruto would follow in his father's footsteps. Naruto merely grinned with confidence.

After a ten minute walk, the trio entered the Hyuuga compound. Some of the Hyuuga ninjas were already aware that they had an appointment with the Hiashi and bowed slightly. Honestly Kushina was not used with such formality but it could not be helped when it came to the Hyuuga clan.

Finally they made it to the head of the Hyuuga's house and an attendant immediately slid the door open, welcoming them.

"Hiashi-sama is already waiting your arrival. Please follow me and I will lead you to him." The attendant spoke gently with a bow.

Kushina returned the bow. "Thank you."

Just like most of the Hyuuga houses, this was also a traditional Japanese house and it was much larger than the rest. Ryo honestly thought of the place as a maze and could get lost in it. Finally they arrived at a small empty compound with a table in the center. Basically the compound was a rectangle shape with entrances back into the house on each side. This area could be used as a short training area but for now, Hiashi arranged it to speak with his guests.

"Thank you for having me, Hiashi-sama." Kushina said with respect and followed it with a bow.

Hiashi stood up and returned the bow, urging for Kushina to sit. Uchiha Mikoto was already present, waving at Kushina. The two had been friends during the academy days and their friendship strengthened throughout the years. After the loss of Minato, Mikoto was one of the first to console her friend for the loss of her husband.

"Sasuke, look who's here." Mikoto said to a boy next to her.

"Naruto!" "Sasuke!" Both kids greeted cheerfully.

"Well at least the kid's will be preoccupied." Hiashi noted and then spotted Ryo. "Ah, Ryo Azuma… It's nice to see you."

Ryo gave a smile in return. "Ah… Err… Yeah, nice to see you."

Hiashi gestured for Ryo to join them and take a seat but Ryo politely declined. Hiashi understood and returned to his seat. Ever since the Kyuubi incident and the rumors from witnesses that Ryo had single-handedly fought the Kyuubi at some point, Hiashi felt that Ryo marrying a Hyuuga would be beneficial for his clan. Of course he could not ask his daughters as they were still too young but there were other young Hyuuga women.

"What brings this occasion, Hiashi-sama?" Kushina asked once she had taken a seat, breaking Hiashi out of his thoughts.. "It's rare for you to call the head of the clan other than just being a social call."

"But of course. I have other matters I wish to discuss with you but not in the presence of our children of course." Hiashi stated plainly.

"Hehe, wait till you hear what he has to say!" Mikoto teased.

"Ehhh, you already told her?" Kushina said in disappointment. Kushina was about to say something when she noticed something else. "Eh, is Fugaku not joining us?"

Mikoto rolled her eyes. "He's got work with the Military Police. You know how he is."

Hiashi chuckled a little at that. "Well he is the head of the Uchiha clan. He holds a very big responsibility so I can understand why he could not attend this small gathering." Hiashi then called for his attendant. "Can you please take Naruto and Sasuke elsewhere? This is an adult matter."

"But of course Hiashi-sama. Naruto-sama, Sasuke-sama, please follow me." The attendant called, the two boys obediently following the attendant.

Kushina and Mikoto watched their child follow the Hyuuga attendant until they disappeared from sight, happy that the two were getting along great. Mikoto was at first worried that Sasuke and Naruto might take some time before they became friends but her worries were pointless as the two quickly bonded quick. Kushina felt the same and their child's friendship merely tightened the bond between Kushina and Mikoto as well.

"Now then, about why I called you here…"

***Head Hyuuga house, elsewhere***

"I think we lost him!" Naruto exclaimed with a laugh.

"Why do I always follow you in this?" Sasuke complained although he was enjoying the moment.

The two children could hear the attendant calling for them but they quickly increased their pace, turning to their right. The two continued running with Naruto leading the Uchiha and then the blonde turned left and entered a room.

"Close… close the door!" Naruto panted.

Sasuke did as he was told, quickly sliding the door close and dropping on his behind. The two were still panting and then laughed at the success of escaping from their pursuer. After the laughter died down, it was then that Naruto realized they were not alone.

Naruto turned around to find a girl with dark blue hair and fair skin with white eyes. She was wearing a kimono and the two looked into each other's eyes, not knowing what to say. The girl was actually slightly frightened, wondering who the two boys were.

Naruto however had never actually seen a girl so cute. Her expression was what caught his attention, timid and shy which added to her cute qualities. The two said nothing and the young Uchiha still had not realized someone else was in the room.

"Errm… who are you?" The girl asked timidly.

***Hyuuga house, empty compound***

Ryo Azuma was out of hearing range as he stood by one of the entrances of the compound, sitting on the wooden floor and drinking a small cup of tea that a Hyuuga attendant had offered to him. The blue-haired Guardian felt that it was not his business to eavesdrop on other people's business.

In the end Ryo felt he was still an outsider in Konoha's affairs. While he had made some friends in Konoha, he was not born here. Despite having bonds with some of the people of Konoha he could not feel truly at home. After all he was a Guardian and Guardians normally do not mingle with the local inhabitants of a world.

The appearance of an ANBU to Ryo's right surprised him, nearly spilling his tea.

"Apologies Ryo-san, but Sandaime Hokage is looking for you." The ANBU said.

"Hokage-sama…? I have already spoken to him this morning."

The ANBU nodded in agreement. "That is true but this concerns a different matter."

Ryo considered it a moment and decided to see what the Hokage wanted. The ANBU thanked Ryo for his cooperation and then disappeared in a puff of smoke, catching the attention of Hiashi, Kushina and Mikoto.

"The Hokage wants to see me. I'll head out first." Ryo told the others.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then Ryo." Kushina replied to which Ryo waved back.

Mikoto herself, like Hiashi, was also trying to find a suitable partner within the Uchiha for Ryo. Basically most clans were interested in acquiring Ryo but the Uchiha and the Hyuuga were the ones that had the most chance as they were the most powerful clans in Konoha. After Ryo had departed, the three continued their conversation.

"So back to the topic Hiashi…" Mikoto began. "You wish to... with one of our son?"

Hiashi nodded and took a sip of tea. "I find that it would be in the best interest of our clans. However I find it to be more beneficial to the Uzumaki clan since Kushina-san is the last of her line; if you don't mind of course, Mikoto-san."

Mikoto shook her head and had her hands risen. "Please you can prioritize Kushina first. After all this sort of matter… well, I'd need to discuss this with my husband as well."

Hiashi nodded in understanding and turned towards Kushina. "Well what do you think, Kushina-san?"

Kushina was at a loss of words as she had not expected such development. Also this was involving her son… Hiashi also could see that Kushina was in deep thought and he said nothing so that she could think about it. Mikoto would have to discuss the matter with her husband but Hiashi doubt Fugaku would consider it as he probably wanted the line to stay pure.

"Please, you don't have to come to a decision now." Hiashi said, Kushina looking at him. "But I hope that you will agree with the idea of having Naruto betrothed to Hinata… It would help out both of our clans respectively…"

***Hokage tower***

Ryo wondered what the Hokage wanted. Normally he would not have to come again as the Hokage would tell him everything he needed in one go so there was probably some developments that forced the Hokage to call him. Ryo entered the Hokage's office after knocking on his door.

"Hokage-sama, what is it?"

Sarutobi stopped his paperwork and looked up at Ryo. "Ryo… I believe this concerns you personally."

Ryo had a confused look and all the Sandaime Hokage did was gestured at something behind Ryo. The blue-haired Guardian turned around and his jaw opened wide, surprised by what he saw. The woman behind Ryo had a serious look on her face, her long blonde-hair tied in a ponytail as Ryo remembered.

The woman approached Ryo and once she was close enough, she smiled evilly. "Well, aren't you going to say anything Ryo…? It has been a long time since I saw you…"

Ryo had no idea what was going on and looked at the Hokage for answers. All the Hokage did was shrug, he too at a loss for words. Although the woman had already explained why she was here and Sarutobi believed her, he would prefer if Ryo was present.

The woman snapped her fingers and Ryo looked back at her.

"Come on Ryo… Is that how you treat a fellow Guardian?"

**A/N: CHAPTER END! HOH! A fellow Guardian enters the world of Naruto, but what is she doing here? Guardians are only assigned for one world!  
Also a betrothal between Naruto and Hinata? Will it work out when there might be trouble in the future? Especially since the Kumogakure are arriving the next day for the treaty! Find out next chapter!**


	6. The Threat Of Kumogakure

**Disclaimer: All of the characters here and locations are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. The only ones that belong to me are my OC.**

**A/N: Here is the new chapter! Sorry it took me a while but I hope you will enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all the follows, favorites and reviews guys! Keep 'em coming!**

**CHAPTER 6: THE THREAT OF KUMOGAKURE**

Sarutobi rubbed his goatee as he watched the scene transpire before him. The shocked expression of Ryo Azuma merely told the old Hokage that the blue-haired Guardian had not expected the arrival of another from his kin. The shocked expression of Ryo was like a person seeing the unthinkable happen in slow motion. Now Sarutobi waited for things to unfold between the two Guardians.

Ryo was flabbergasted at the appearance of an old friend; if he could call her a friend. She still wore the same attire, comprising of a white tank top and black shorts that went down to her knees. She wore the same black gloves and as usual, her white tank top was a tight fit due to her large bust which Ryo tried hard to avert his eyes from. However the woman immediately noticed where his eyes were wandering.

"Hmm…?" The woman hummed and laid a hand on Ryo's chest. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Ryo shook his head and finally regained his composure, taking a step back to gain some distance from the woman. "Eriko… What are you even doing here?"

"You know her, Ryo?" Sarutobi asked.

Ryo nodded without taking his eyes off her. "Yeah… Futada Eriko. She's a Guardian like me and she's assigned to protect a world quite close to this one. She's known as 'Demon Blade Eriko' with her dual blades and reflexes. All of us Guardians are acquainted at some point or another."

Eriko grinned cheekily. "I see your memory still serves you well at least, Ryo Azuma, the Blade of Lightning... Many have doubt your capabilities ever since you failed the last time so it is good to see that your memory is at least still functioning properly."

Sarutobi's attention immediately perked upon learning about something. The Sandaime Hokage presumed that most Guardians were perfect in their missions and from Ryo's features; it would seem that Ryo had a history that he would like to have forgotten.

"What are you doing here Eriko?" Ryo asked in order to change the subject.

"Heh, spoilsport." Eriko whispered and then twisted around, walking towards the door and leaning on it. "I'm here because things have changed."

"Do enlighten us." Ryo requested.

"Well, our master's enemies have been defeated more than five years ago and-"

"Wait!" Ryo interrupted suddenly, "What are you even talking about? I've just been in this world for three years and last I heard, our master's enemies were still…"

Eriko began giggling as if what Ryo said was extremely hilarious. It took the blonde Guardian a couple of seconds before she could stop her laughter. "Oh Ryo… You really have no idea what you have done, do you?"

"…What are you talking about?"

"You went back in time, didn't you?" Ryo nodded and Eriko continued. "Well you went back in time for at least fifteen years into the past. Added that you spent three years after that, it has been eighteen years since time have gone by. The war between our masters and us Guardians against our master's enemies ended soon five years ago; basically thirteen years in your own timeline."

Ryo still had a confused look and Eriko explained further. "Ryo… While you might have felt just a second had passed since you went to the past, time in the current world went on. By going fifteen years into the past, you skipped fifteen years of the current time."

Ryo said nothing and he also did not move. He was too shocked upon finally understanding what Eriko meant. He reversed time for fifteen years and fifteen years had sped by and added that he had been in Naruto's world for three years; eighteen years had already passed in the current time. Ryo rubbed his temples, feeling a headache approaching.

"Alright… So basically eighteen years had gone by… And you said that our master's enemies had already been defeated five years ago…?"

"That's correct."

"So what now…? Why are you here…? Is there no need for me to remain in this world anymore?"

Eriko shook her head and her expression now got serious. "No and this is why I am here… After our enemies had finally been defeated, just a year after that our masters have split into two groups. The masters you and I serve still controls the balance of the system but the other faction has decided that this world has to be destroyed…"

It was Sarutobi who now was shock, getting up from his seat. "Wait…! How does that even make sense? Don't your masters wish to keep the worlds safe from destruction to keep balance in the universe?"

Eriko nodded at Sarutobi's assessment. "You're correct but I've already said that our masters have split into two. The other factions have decided that this world still has the Jyuubi, a demonic monster that holds their old enemies creation. They feel that this world needs to be renewed… Puried… basically this world needs to be destroyed and created once more as a new planet with no history of the Jyuubi."

Ryo and Sarutobi were silent as Eriko continued. "Of course our masters that have stayed true to their objectives found their reasoning horrifying and do not wish for the destruction of this world. They feel that we can complete our duties of not allowing the Jyuubi to be resurrected while the other faction believes in creating a new world with no essence of the Jyuubi."

Ryo nodded and then said, "…The masters cannot directly involve in the world affairs so what good-"

"The other faction masters have their own Guardians that follow them." Eriko interjected, "There are probably Guardians in this world right now other than me and you… And they are not on our side."

Ryo narrowed his eyes and realized the gravity of the situation. He had not expected reversing time to have actually skipped the last fifteen years and now… other Guardians that sided against the masters with the original objectives have arrived in Naruto's world, most likely in an attempt to destroy it.

"Wait, so what's stopping them from not destroying it now?" Sarutobi inquired.

Eriko smiled at the old Hokage. "That's an excellent question… While it is true that they could probably try and destroy the world now, they are still Guardians by nature. They… And we cannot destroy the world that our masters create. However what they can do is help the enemy to obtain their objectives…"

"…This is bad…" Ryo mumbled and then looked at the woman. "Do we at least know who they are? How many there are?"

Eriko shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine… I'm just here to update you on the current events and to make sure this world does not get destroyed. If the situation is as bad as it is, the masters will probably send another Guardian but for now, I'm here to do what I can."

"So you will be staying here?" Sarutobi questioned.

Eriko shook her head and opened the door of the Hokage's office, preparing to exit. "I will be working alone. I just came by to inform Ryo and those who know of our identity about the current situation. If anything comes up, I will alert you guys so until then, you won't be hearing from me."

With that the blonde-haired Guardian walked out of the office, her blonde ponytail bouncing as she walked. Honestly Ryo wondered how the woman wanted to keep a low profile when she was dressed in such a way. Then again Ryo travelled with a huge blade so he had no right to comment on anything.

The Hokage's office was silent once more with the two male the only one in the room. The recent news was still being processed by the both of them and Ryo was especially confused. The Guardian wondered how the masters could have separated after all the years of working towards a similar goal. Not to mention that Eriko mentioned that some Guardians had arrived in this world and they were enemies. Guardians had always been friends or allies and the thought of battling against one another… Ryo hoped it was not true.

"This has become complicated." Sarutobi commented, breaking the silence.

Ryo nodded in agreement. "If it is true that Guardians have sided with the enemy, there is no telling what is going to happen. If they mean for the destruction of this world, they would do anything to bring the world to chaos!"

Sarutobi sighed heavily and placed his favorite pipe into his lips, lighting it up. "Bring the world to chaos, is it…? Hmm…"

"Is there something on your mind…?"

"No, never mind…" Sarutobi waved it off, turning around in his chair and staring out the window. "At least we know now what the enemy might be planning… Ryo you are dismissed. Do not forget that we have a peace treaty to attend tomorrow night. The Kumogakure ninjas should arrive by tomorrow afternoon. Be prepared, we don't know if Kumo have any other motives for coming here."

Ryo bowed respectively and then made his way out of the office, leaving the Sandaime Hokage alone with his paperwork. Ryo was a confused man, walking the hallways of the Hokage tower as if he was a mindless robot, letting his feet take him wherever it was going. He had not expected to meet another Guardian, Eriko especially, out of the blue.

Futada Eriko had been a close friend of Ryo before the incident that ruined Ryo's reputation as a Guardian. Although she still considered Ryo a friend, Ryo's failure had strained their friendship. Actually his relationship with the other entire Guardian had been affected. Ryo decided he needed to reflect on all of this, choosing a solitude area to think.

***Head of Hyuuga house***

Uzumaki Naruto stared at the blue-haired girl in a kimono and not realizing what to do. The girl was so frightened by the intruders that she looked like she was about to cry. Before the girl could burst into tears, Naruto quickly waved his arms frantically urging the unknown girl to not cry.

"Wait, wait… Don't cry, we're not here to hurt you!" Naruto exclaimed.

The girl seemed to have calmed down a little but it was far from over. "I-I asked… wh-who you are…"

By then Sasuke had realized there was someone else in the room other than Naruto and spun around to find the girl. Upon spotting the girl, Sasuke immediately recognized the young girl that Naruto was speaking to.

"Hinata…? What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked in surprise.

Hinata frowned as she recognized Sasuke. "We-well… you're in… my room…"

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise and quickly checked his surroundings and realized the Hyuuga heiress was right. The room was decorated well and it had a touch that suited a little girl's room.

"Eh you know her Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded. "She's the daughter of the head Hyuuga, just like how my father is the head of the Uchiha."

"Ohhh, I get it…" Naruto said and then turned towards Hinata with a sly grin. "Hehe, sorry Hinata! We didn't mean to barge in here, we were just running around and we ended up here."

Hinata nodded while avoiding eye contact with the blonde. "It-it… its okay…"

Naruto cocked his head to the left and approached the young girl slowly as if she was something Naruto had never seen a person before. Hinata looked away and was blushing madly but she did not move away. Naruto was by then exactly in front of her and was looking at her curiously.

"You're pretty cute!" Naruto said straightly and then grinned widely.

Hinata blushed but before any words were exchanged between them, Sasuke cut in. "You're scaring her, you idiot!"

"What? What did I do?"

"Hinata's not very good with people. So stop trying to scare her!" Sasuke scolded.

"Shut up you… duck-hair!" Naruto retorted.

Sasuke looked at Naruto as if he was an idiot, finding the name he called Sasuke stupid. However the two young boys heard a small giggle fill the room and the two turned to find Hinata giggling, covering her mouth in an attempt to suppress her laughter.

"Duck-hair…" Hinata said while still trying to suppress her giggling. "You-you're pretty… funny."

Naruto scratched his hair and joined in the laughter, allowing for Hinata to also join in the laugh although she was much softer than the blonde boy. Sasuke merely chuckled a little and the whole room became quiet once more. Naruto glared into the white eyes of Hinata again which forced the girl to feel a little uncomfortable, looking away.

"Eh how do you know her anyway?" Naruto asked, turning towards Sasuke.

"My father and Hinata's father are the respective head of their clan. We sometimes visit one another in social events with our families so we knew each other from there." Sasuke explained.

"Oh, okay…" Naruto then turned towards Hinata and offered his hand. "Want to become friends with me?"

Hinata did not know how to respond to such a direct approach, looking at the hand Naruto was offering. Naruto merely urged her to shake it and she then took a step forward, slowly reaching forward for the hand. Finally she held Naruto's hand and Naruto closed the grip but not too tightly, feeling how soft her hand was and not wanting to hurt her.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto… Nice to meet you!" Naruto introduced himself and then grinning.

Hinata returned the smile and thus formed the friendship between Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto. Sasuke joined the conversation as they sat down in a triangle-shape and played some games that a child would come up. Unknown to the three of them, Kushina, Mikoto and Hiashi were outside of Hinata's room and had heard their conversation from earlier.

"Well, this might not be so hard after all." Kushina remarked.

Hiashi nodded in agreement. "Yes, I'm honestly surprised. Hinata is… not very good with interacting with others but your son seemed to have befriended her quite easily."

"So what about the betrothal?"

"I think we can commit the two." Hiashi answered. "If they develop such an early friendship, the two might develop other feelings as they grow older."

Mikoto grinned upon hearing the head of the Hyuuga say that. "My, it is rare for Hiashi-sama to speak about relationships…"

Hiashi cleared his throat, a small blush seen on his cheeks. "I am merely looking for the interest of our clans. Now then, how about we leave our children alone and we can continue with tea."

Kushina and Mikoto agreed and followed the Hyuuga head. Kushina however stopped for a moment and looked at the door of Hinata's room, hearing the children's laughter from where she stood. She was very fortunate to be alive when she should have died three years ago. Now thanks to Ryo she could watch over her son, watch him grow into a respectable individual and find a woman he would one day marry.

Several hours passed and it was already quite late in the evening when Kushina and Mikoto decided that it was time to go home. After saying their goodbyes to Hyuuga Hiashi, Kushina left with Naruto and Mikoto with her son, Sasuke. The two women chatted with one another, sharing gossip and whatever topic that came up while their children played while following their respective mother.

Of course since the Uchiha compound was in a different direction, Mikoto then gave her own goodbye to Kushina and went in a different direction with Sasuke. Kushina waved at her friend and then grabbed Naruto's hand as they made their own journey home.

"So how was your day Naruto?" Kushina asked with a smile.

"I had fun!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "I even made a new friend!"

Kushina pretended to be surprised, turning to look at her son. "Oh you did? Who is it?"

"Her name's Hyuuga Hinata!" Naruto told his mother. "She's really shy but she's really fun once you get to know her!"

Kushina smiled at her son's enthusiasm. "I see… Do you like her?"

"Of course I do! I like all my friends!"

Kushina merely shook her head, laughing at the naivety of a child. She never had much time to have a happy childhood as she was later selected to be the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Luckily for her she met Minato and the love the two had for each other filled the void that would have consumed most tailed-beast hosts.

The red-haired Uzumaki wondered how much longer before the Kyuubi would make contact with her son. Although according to Ryo the Kyuubi had been tamed in the other timeline, she was still worried about her son's reaction. After all, Ryo had said Naruto still had not regained his memories. So she was prepared to teach him everything about being a Jinchuuriki once he was old enough, matured enough to understand the important role he would be playing as a Jinchuuriki.

Once the two Uzumaki had returned home, Naruto ran straight to his room while Kushina began preparing dinner. Grabbing materials from the fridge and placing them on the kitchen counter, she began cutting the vegetables and boiling the water. For a while she felt as if something was missing and then she realized what it was.

Ryo Azuma was not present at the moment. It was a normal event where Ryo would join Kushina and Naruto for breakfast and also dinner as well. However at the moment Ryo was nowhere to be seen and she wondered if it had something to do with what the Hokage had called him for earlier.

After she was done with preparing the meal, she called for her son who obediently appeared from his room and took a seat on the dining table. Kushina took a seat on the opposite of her son and they began their meal. After a while, Naruto stopped and looked around him.

"Eh…? Where's spiky Ryo?"

Kushina shook her head. "I don't know. I guess he's got something to do tonight."

"Eh… But he always joins us for dinner."

"Well things don't always go as planned, Naruto." Kushina explained. "You'll know this to be true when you're older."

Naruto listened and then simply resumed his dinner. Kushina smiled and then also returned to her dinner although in the back of her mind, she did wonder what had happened to the blue-haired Guardian. He never missed the evening meal and whatever the Hokage had told him, it must have been something important.

***Konoha, Night***

The bright moon hovered over the dark skies of Konoha like a floating light bulb. Down below in Konoha, the civilian population had all returned into the comfort of their homes and were about to turn in for the night to prepare for the hassle the next day. However the ninjas of Konoha, particularly the ANBU; they were still busy patrolling the streets of Konoha although at night, they were much more relaxed.

Of course there were the occasional Jounin or Chuunin that also participated in the patrols and would receive a small bonus in their pay. The ANBU nightly patrols were already part of their roles and had no extra pay. As the Konoha ninjas patrolled the streets and the roof, the blue-haired Guardian was on a rooftop, leaning against the wall and staring up into the night sky and watching the glittering stars dancing above him.

Ryo had been deep in thought ever since the news Eriko had delivered about the current situation. He was not so worried about skipping eighteen years; after all he was more than a thousand years old. However he could not understand how the masters could have split and were now demanding this world to be protected and not be destroyed from the other masters. He could not understand how this could have occurred five years ago and just when the enemies of their masters had finally been obliterated. Now they were fighting one another only because of a difference of opinion.

"You seem troubled." A feminine voice pointed out.

"Eriko… I thought you left already."

Eriko was now next to Ryo after she had snuck up on him. "I'll leave tomorrow; thought I might hang around for a bit."

"…What happened in just five years…? How could the masters have…? How did they suddenly go on a war against one another?" Ryo questioned.

Eriko shrugged and saw Ryo's troubled look. "I don't know… We don't know how the masters think and we only exist to obey their orders, not question them."

"Is that what you honestly think what our existence mean?"

Eriko smirked. "What, are you saying you wish to go against our masters wishes…? Heh, you'd be gone in an instant. We cannot disobey them; they created us, they can easily destroy us."

Ryo sighed in anger. "Then why can't they fight their own battles? Why do we have to risk our lives and harm innocent bystanders in their name?"

Eriko chuckled at Ryo's question. "Since when have the great leaders ever fought their own battles Ryo? Even in this world, the leaders command the subordinates to fight in the name of their country or lord. Is that not true in most societies…?"

Ryo had no answer to that and Eriko continued. "We are Guardians of the world our masters created and we exist to obey the commands of our masters. Perhaps you living with the local populace have made you forget that Ryo so I shall remind you again. You have already failed once in your duty as a Guardian… Do not make that same mistake again."

With those parting words, Eriko walked towards the edge of the rooftop and then leaped away. Ryo watched the blonde Guardian making her way out of Konoha without being detected until she finally leaped over the great walls of Konoha. Once she was gone, Ryo also decided he should head back to his apartment and prepare for the next day. He wanted to forget about the bigger picture for the moment and just focus on what was important for him.

***Next day***

The villagers awoke early the next day to begin their daily activities. However none took note of the excessive number of Konoha ninjas that were present and also the lack of Konoha ninjas leaving on a mission. In the morning only a couple few had departed on missions, most of them Jounins with a few elite Jounins. The rest were mostly in the streets, walking around and chatting with the villagers.

Ryo was present this time to join Naruto and Kushina for breakfast and Ryo acted as if nothing had happened. Naruto and Ryo talked with one another but Kushina could see that Ryo was hiding something but she decided to not press the issue. After he was done, Ryo headed off while Kushina dressed Naruto as she wanted to bring Naruto back to the Hyuuga and play with Hinata. Kushina had a day-off from the academy today so she was free.

The Hokage himself was currently on the Hokage monuments with two ANBU guards standing next to him. The Sandaime Hokage was overlooking the village, the village he swore to protect as the current Hokage. He had taken this job for more than thirty years in the least and was now considered the longest living Hokage compared to his predecessor and successor.

After a while, the ANBU leaned next to the Hokage and whispered a couple of words to the Hokage. The Hokage then nodded and three of them disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving no evidence that the three were ever present.

In the streets of Konoha, everyone was chattering about what was going on. The villagers had a mixed reaction of excitement and also a little hint of fear. Whatever the case, the crowd of people was gathering by the streets, abandoning whatever it was that they were doing.

Kushina and Naruto were among the crowd of people but Kushina had no desire to remain here. She was on the way to the Hyuuga compound since Naruto wanted to visit his new friend. However the large crowd that had gathered was making it hard to pass through them.

"What's going on?!" Kushina had to yell just to get the attention of the person next to her.

"Don't you know?" The woman responded. "The Kumogakure ninjas have arrived to begin negotiations with Konoha!"

Kushina groaned. "That's today?"

The woman nodded and was looking towards the main gate of Konoha. "Finally relations between Konoha and Kumo will be much better. Honestly with so much tension between our two great villages, I was worried we might go into another war. I'm already tired of that."

Kushina merely smiled at the woman and then tried to remove herself from the crowd. She was carrying Naruto so it was a little bit of a bother and after a couple of seconds of no improvement; she decided she was going to need to use the rooftops to actually remove herself from the scene.

"Hold on Naruto!"

With that Kushina jumped off from the ground and landed on the nearest rooftop. After she landed on her feet, she quickly dashed towards in the direction of the Hyuuga compound and Naruto was enjoying the moment, laughing as the wind pushed against him. It was not far before they arrived before the Hyuuga compound and Kushina jumped back down to the streets.

"What business do you have here?" A Hyuuga ninja whom was guarding the entrance asked.

"I'm just here to let my son play with Hinata." Kushina replied.

The attendant's eyes immediately widened. "Ah, you're Uzumaki Kushina… My apologies!" The Hyuuga ninja immediately bowed. "Hiashi-sama has already said that you might be coming! Hinata-sama is at her home, do you need me to guide you there?"

Kushina giggled at the Hyuuga's actions. "You don't have to bow. Come on, raise yourself. And I'll be fine; I know my way but thanks for the offer."

The Hyuuga ninja raised himself and then stepped aside, allowing the red-haired Uzumaki with her son to pass. She was not surprised to find a number of Hyuuga still within the compound, unconcerned about the arrival of the Kumogakure ninjas. The Hyuuga, although part of Konoha cared little for the politics of Konoha. Hyuuga Hiashi was the head and he was the only one that needed to concern himself in Konoha's political events as the representative of the Hyuuga.

Some of the Hyuuga that recognized Kushina bowed in respect. Although the Hyuuga were a powerful clan, the Uzumaki held much more respects among the other clans. Kushina was even friends with some of the Hyuuga that passed by them, giving them a wave of hello before proceeding towards Hiashi's house.

Upon arriving at Hiashi's house, an attendant instant took notice of Kushina. "Ah Kushina-sama. Hiashi-sama had said that you might be coming today."

Kushina smiled in response. "Hiashi-sama is not present?"

The attendant shook his head. "He is one of the representatives in the peace negotiations with Kumo so he's probably with the Hokage at the moment." The attendant then opened the main door of the house. "Now come in, I'll show you to where Hinata-sama is."

Naruto followed quickly, excited to play with his new friend and his mother followed suit.

***Konoha, main entrance***

There were at least only two Kumogakure officials followed by at least ten Kumogakure ninjas, five of them with an ANBU mask and the remaining five were probably elite Jounins. As the Hokage had stated, the Raikage was not present. The villagers were by the sides of the streets and most were cheering happily now that the relations between the two mighty villages would be better now.

The Hokage waited for the Kumo officials and ninjas to approach him as he stood with his representatives, three ANBU close by and Ryo behind him. Of course there were several ANBU stationed that was watching closely in case Kumo tried anything.

"It is an honor to actually meet the legendary 'Professor' Sandaime Hokage…" The Kumo official said, bowing in respect at the famed Hokage.

Hokage laughed in return. "Please that name was only popular when I was in my prime…" Everyone shared a small laugh. "So how was the journey from Kumo?"

"It was a long journey but we met with little trouble." The official said. "But we had these excellent guards for a reason."

Sarutobi nodded and then stepped aside, gesturing his hand in a direction. "Shall we begin our negotiations then?"

"But of course. However a few of our ninjas here would like to explore the village, if you don't mind of course. They have never been to Konoha and you know how young ninjas are, with their desire to explore…?"

The Hokage hesitated this time. This was almost asking for trouble but rejecting such an innocent act might strain the negotiations a little by showing Konoha's lack of trust. So against his better judgement, Sarutobi merely smiled gently. "But of course… Go ahead."

The Kumo official smiled and gave the 'go-ahead' on the ninjas behind him. Two of the Kumo ninjas without the ANBU mask bowed in thanks and then separated from the group.

The Konoha representatives led the way with several ANBU watching the whole situation on the rooftops. The Kumo officials and their guards followed from behind as they made their way towards the Hokage tower to begin negotiations. By then the villagers had seen enough and returned to whatever it was that they were doing.

Sarutobi and his advisors were already suspicious about Kumo's true objectives and had already given a secret signal for some Konoha ANBU to trail the other two Kumo ninjas that had gone 'exploring.' As for the Kumo ninjas, they were a little surprised to see Ryo, not anticipating a Konoha ninja to be part of the representatives and wielding such a gigantic sword. The only known ninjas in the world that could carry the size of such a blade would be the 'Seven Swordsmen of the Mist' but Ryo was definitely not among that group.

After they arrived in the Hokage tower, Sarutobi led them towards a hall where there was a table in the center. The Kumo officials went in followed by the Kumo ANBU while the other Kumo ninjas stayed outside. The Kumo officials sat on one side while Sarutobi and the other peace representatives sat on the opposite side with Ryo and Hizashi standing behind them and the Kumo ANBU standing behind where the Kumo officials sat.

"Now then… Shall we begin?" Sarutobi started.

Ryo mostly zoned out when the Kumo officials and the Konoha representatives began discussing what was to be expected from one another in the peace terms. Hizashi was at full attention like a watchdog however, making sure no harm would befall on his brother. The discussions were mostly monotonous so that added to Ryo's boredom and even though he had little interest in such matters, he was still fulfilling his part of the mission by watching for any suspicious movements.

The Kumo ANBU was disciplined, not moving a muscle as they stood behind the Kumo officials. Konoha's ANBU were stationed outside the room with the Kumo Jounins.

The meeting had been ongoing for another fifteen minutes with Sarutobi sharing some laughs with the Kumo officials. Uchiha Fugaku was mostly silent throughout the conference while Hiashi offered some input along with Sarutobi's advisors. After some time, the Kumo officials shared another laugh and then suddenly became silent.

"So on to the matter about border control…" Sarutobi began, shifting through the papers on the table. "What is Kumo's stance on the matter?"

The Kumo officials said nothing and Sarutobi had to repeat the question. Again there was no response and instead one of the Kumo officials was actually giggling. Fagaku and Sarutobi narrowed their eyes in suspicion and Hizashi was already prepared to react if they suddenly attacked.

"You… are truly something…" The Kumo official remarked. "You allowed us to enter into your homeland despite the tensions shared between us… And then only have two bodyguards in this room while we have five… I am not sure if Konoha is simply stupid or underestimating us."

Sarutobi stayed silent from the statement but it was Fugaku that responded. "What are you trying to say…? You had better have a good reason for making such rude remarks on Konoha!"

"We do have a reason, Uchiha Fugaku…" The Kumo official explained with a grin. "We just feel that Konoha don't have what it takes to stand to the might of Kumogakure and that is why you all are so hasty to enter negotiations."

"What was that?!" Fugaku responded in anger but Sarutobi and Hiashi remained silent.

"There is a reason why Raikage-Sama did not come and that is because he has no intention of forming a peace treaty with Konoha." The Kumo official declared. "As a matter of fact, we have other intentions for entering Konoha." The Kumo official then stared at Hiashi. "The Byakugan is truly a remarkable bloodline, is it not?"

Hiashi stood up instantly and Hizashi activated the Byakugan, entering the Hyuuga stance. "If you're trying to steal the Byakugan from me, you are truly eating more than you can chew!"

The Kumo official laughed at that statement. "Who said it would be from you we would be stealing?"

"Enough!" Sarutobi roared and standing up followed by his advisors. "If you are going to attack us within Konoha walls, you definitely have a death wish! And you're basically declaring war on Konoha!"

The Kumo officials merely grinned at that. "Declare war…? Hehe, I think the war has already begun!"

With that the Kumo ANBU ninjas immediately grabbed the Kumo officials and tossed several kunai wrapped with explosion tags towards the Konoha peace representative. Sarutobi watched the kunai approaching him as the tags burn, ready to explode.

***Hyuuga Compound*

"How may I help you…? The Hyuuga attendant asked gently.

Without a second thought, the Kumo Jounin stabbed the Hyuuga attendant with a kunai, the Hyuuga attendant shocked and bleeding from the corner of his lips. He then dropped on his back of the wooden floor, his life seeping away. The last he saw were two Kumo ninjas entering the house of his master and followed by several Konoha ANBU.

The two Kumo Jounins slaughtered whatever that stood in their way, quickly checking every rooms for their target. The house was like a maze and they were taking too much time. Finally they heard the laughter of children and followed the source of that voice.

A Hyuuga attendant that was still alive was crawling out of the house to seek for help, bleeding badly from his wound. He entered the sunlight and out into the streets but he never made it. A Konoha ANBU stood guard outside of the Hyuuga's mansion and when he saw the dying Hyuuga, the Konoha ANBU stabbed the attendant with his katana without any hesitation.

The Kumo Jounin followed the source of the laughter and then finally approached a sliding door with the voice of a child coming from behind the door. Without a second thought, the Kumo Jounins opened the door, revealing Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto.

"Why, hello there children…" The Kumo Jounin greeted with an evil grin, his yellow hair gleaming in the darkness. "You're coming with me!"

Hyuuga Hinata never saw it coming, losing consciousness a split-second later.

**A/N: CHAPTER END! HOH YEAH!  
Thus the Hyuuga affair begins but within this alternate timeline, it has a different beginnings. And also, could this be the beginning of a war between Konohagakure and Kumogakure? Find out in the next chapter!**


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